FC Porto laboured to a 0-0 tie with Deportivo de la Coruna on Wednesday, leaving Monaco as the only clear favourites to reach the Champions League final.
The only surviving team to have won Europe’s most prestigious club competition, Porto hit the bar but failed to beat Deportivo’s goalkeeper in a low-quality game at the new Stadium of the Dragon, refurbished for Euro 2004.
Nuno Ribeiro ” Maniche” floated a 22,8m shot that hit the crossbar and Lithuanian striker Edgaras Jankauskas headed a right-wing free kick wide of the far post as Porto twice threatened to break the deadlock.
Deportivo were reduced to 10 men four minutes from the end when Jorge Andrade, a former Porto player, foolishly kicked out at Deco in front of referee Markus Merk after being called for a foul and was sent off.
Like Brazilian teammate Mauro Silva, Andrade’s partner in central defence who was booked in the game, he will be suspended for the second leg on home turf.
”It was very tense, very difficult. It’s not a bad result,” Mauro said. ”We’ve got 90 minutes with the support of our home crowd to try and a get a historic result.”
”This type of match has a lot of tension and is very balanced. Both teams played with similar characteristics, not willing to take many risks. Now we have to try and finish it off,” Mauro added.
Porto had knocked out Manchester United on the way to the semifinal and Deportivo had spectacularly come from 4-1 down to beat defending champion AC Milan 4-0 in the second leg of the quarterfinal.
But there was a general lack of goalmouth incident in Wednesday’s game in stark contrast to Tuesday’s semifinal.
Monaco, who ousted nine-time champion Real Madrid in the quarters, played much of the second half with 10 men but still scored a 3-1 victory over favoured Chelsea.
Fernando Morientes, a three-time Champions League winner with Madrid, and Shabani Nonda scored late goals as Chelsea’s defence fell apart at Stade Louis II.
The result was a major boost for Monaco coach Didier Deschamps, a former World Cup and European Championship winner with France, while Claudio Ranieri’s team need a 2-0 victory on home soil to make it to their first Champions League final.
The second legs are in two weeks’ time and the final is at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on May 26. — Sapa-AP