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WORLD FOOTBALL

    Porto Stun Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus 2-1 in 1st Leg of UCL Round-of-16 Tie

    Rob Goldberg@TheRobGoldbergX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistFebruary 17, 2021

    Porto's Moussa Marega, right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League round of 16, first leg, soccer match between FC Porto and Juventus at the Dragao stadium in Porto, Portugal, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Luis Vieira)
    Luis Vieira/Associated Press

    FC Porto had a dream start to the Champions League knockout stage with a 2-1 win over Juventus.

    Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega got on the scoresheet for Porto, which opened each half with an early goal to grab a stunning lead in the two-legged round-of-16 matchup.

    Cristiano Ronaldo was held scoreless Wednesday at Estadio do Dragao in his home country of Portugal, leaving Juventus with an uphill battle to advance.

    The trip to the quarterfinal will be decided in the second leg March 9 at Juventus Stadium in Turin, Italy.

    The first leg couldn't have began any worse for Juve, which conceded the opening goal in just over a minute.

    Champions League on CBS Sports @UCLonCBSSports

    61 SECONDS INTO THE KNOCKOUT STAGE 😳 https://t.co/SVA2xNF5Mf

    OptaJoe @OptaJoe

    63 - Mehdi Taremi's goal for Porto after 63 seconds is the quickest scored in the Champions League knockout stages since David Alaba scored for Bayern Munich in the quarter-final against Juventus in April 2013 after 24 seconds. Opportunist.

    Adam Digby @Adz77

    Two months of preparation for this CL & 61 seconds in Rodrigo Bentancur gets a beautiful assist for Porto. 🤦🏽‍♂️

    Rodrigo Bentancur was trying to pass it back to the keeper but it was Mehdi Taremi who found the ball for the quick score.

    The second half saw a similar start as Moussa Marega scored for Porto in a matter of seconds after intermission.

    Champions League on CBS Sports @UCLonCBSSports

    First half: Juve concede within 63 seconds Second half: Juve concede within 20 seconds 😳 https://t.co/Wy3ee9fHKA

    Porto Stun Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus 2-1 in 1st Leg of UCL Round-of-16 Tie
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    Siavoush Fallahi @SiavoushF

    Juventus can't get a worse start to the second half than the firs.... never mind 2-0 Porto

    Matteo Bonetti @BonettiESPN

    The Juventus defense on that second Porto goal gets worse with every time you watch it back. It’s a type of sloppy carelessness we’ve hardly seen from them on the defensive end since this Scudetto run began. #UCL

    Wilson Manafa dribbled through the defense and no one marked Marega for what became an easy goal.

    While the defensive mistakes contributed to the goals, Juventus had nothing going offensively either with little creativity in the final third.

    Carlo Garganese @carlogarganese

    Juventus have had some terrible centre midfields since 2016…this one tonight may be the worst yet Bentancur, Rabiot & McKennie unwatchable 1st half. Zero creativity. So easy for Porto. They could play til Xmas & not concede Pirlo needs to change something, no idea what #PORJUV

    Seb Stafford-Bloor @SebSB

    Juve have been horrendous so far. Just a lot of tepid nothingness on both sides of the ball.

    Ives Galarcep @SoccerByIves

    Juventus looks like a collection of players that just met before kickoff and have no idea how to play together. Porto leading 2-0, 64th minute. Juve better find an away goal or the return leg in Turin is going to be a brutal climb for Pirlo's men.

    Porto controlled only 35 percent of possession but they were happy to stay back with a compact line to prevent any looks at the net.

    The Italians only had one shots on goal in the first half and three in the first 80 minutes before a late charge.

    Federico Chiesa came through with a clutch goal for Juve in the 82nd minute to keep hope alive.

    Champions League on CBS Sports @UCLonCBSSports

    Juventus get an away goal! https://t.co/gHwlgqoTQb

    Thom Craver @thomcraver

    Not only important at this stage, that was a brilliant finish by Chiesa. #ForzaJuve

    The Serie A club couldn't complete the comeback, but the away goal could be extremely valuable going into the second leg.

    Porto is sometimes overlooked in this event compared to the clubs from the bigger leagues across Europe, but the squad showed Wednesday it can compete with the best in the world. Juventus will need to improve in all areas in order to survive this difficult test.