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Porto punishes Club Brugge's poor defending in 4-0 win

Wed, Oct 26, 2022
Soccer News (AP)

BRUGGE, Belgium (AP) - Club Brugge was punished for its defensive mistakes and slumped to its first Champions League loss this season in a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Porto on Wednesday.

The Portuguese champions avenged their 4-0 home loss when the teams first met in Group B last month and boosted their chances to reach the round of 16. With one match left to play in the group phase, Porto moved one point behind group leader Brugge, which had already secured advancement before kickoff.

Porto could join Brugge in the knockout stage later Wednesday if Atletico Madrid does not beat Leverkusen.

Brugge had not conceded a single goal in its four previous matches but was far from its best at Jan Breydelstadion, where Porto striker Medhi Taremi completed a brace.

The Belgian side was overwhelmed from the start and Porto had its first chance in the sixth minute when Stephen Eustaquio found himself unmarked in the box but fluffed his shot over the bar.

Under pressure, Brugge lost almost all duels and struggled to clear its lines but Porto missed two more big chances within the opening 15 minutes through Taremi.

Brugge finally cracked in the 33rd minute after Brandon Mechele gave the ball away with a poor pass near the midfield line. Porto captain Otavio recovered it and picked out Taremi with a through ball, with the Iranian striker coolly converting from outside the box with a curled finish.

Brugge failed to produce a single shot on target in the first half. And when the hosts finally had a chance to get back in the match, they squandered it.

Porto conceded a penalty in the 49th minute but Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa parried away Hans Vanaken's attempt, only for the referee to order the kick to be taken again for an encroachment.

Noah Lang took it this time, and Costa made another save, screaming in delight.

That was a turning point, with Porto scoring three goals in 14 minutes afterwards.

Brazilian forward Evanilson doubled Porto's lead in the 57th after another spell of naïve defending from the hosts, who failed to clear their box and were punished from close range. Eustaquio then made it 3-0 at the hour mark and Taremi completed a brace from Otavio's assist in the 70th.

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