Nerves get better of Porto, Deportivo

With the game drifting towards a goalless draw, Deportivo had defender Jorge Andrade sent off three minutes from time for a needless kick on Deco Souza. The Portuguese centre-back will miss the second leg and his absence, along with that of booked midfielder Mauro Silva, will be a threat to Depor’s hopes ofreaching a first European final.

Porto coach Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports: “0-0 is not a bad result. I have to believe we can do it in La Coruna. In La Coruna they cannot play the same style, they have to change. “At the same time Jorge Andrade, who is a player I know well because he was my player here, is very important for them because he is the fastest player they have at the back.”

Mauro Silva told Spanish television: “The referee was very rigorous as Jorge was really just having a joke by kicking out at an old friend but it’s up to him to make those judgements.

“It’s a real shame that both me and him will miss the next game but you can’t control those sort of things in the heat of the moment.”

Tuesday’s semi-final saw a more decisive result with Monaco taking a big step towards the final in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 26 with a 3-1 victory at home to Chelsea.

Porto’s coveted midfielder Maniche Ribeiro hit the bar with a sublime chip from 25 metres after an hour in what was without question the best moment of the second semifinal, played at the Portuguese side’s beautiful new Dragao Stadium.

There was another close call for Deportivo when their defender Noureddine Naybet almost provided an own goal and Porto substitute Edgaras Jankauskas should then have scored with a header from a dangerous free kick by Deco Souza late on.

Deportivo had only one opportunity to claim an away goal that would have put them in control of the tie, Walter Pandiani volleying wide from inside the penalty area after being Left unmarked in the ninth minute.

La Coruna is just 275kms from Porto across the border and the game had the feel of a local derby throughout. To reach the semifinals, Deportivo had needed a heroic 4-0 win in the second leg of their quarterfinal against AC Milan after a 4-1 defeat in the away game and their objective in Porto was clearly to avoid a similar result.

A series of biting challenges from the Spaniards set the scene in the opening half-hour and Porto were unable to make any headway with their passing, despite the best efforts of Carlos Alberto and Deco. Deportivo might have gone ahead in the ninth minute, when Manuel Pablo’s sweeping cross from the right picked out Pandiani in space in the area.Reuters