2023-11-16 23:24:52
The top two in UEFA Champions League Group H meet at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, as Barcelona take on Porto on the penultimate matchday.
Both teams have nine points each, with Barcelona winning 1-0 in Portugal on matchday two, but Shakhtar Donetsk are just three points behind following beating the Spaniards in Hamburg on the final day.
Previous meetings
Barcelona, 6 wins, 16 goals
Porto, 3 wins, 9 goals
Draws, 0
A goal from Ferran Torres a minute into first-half added time was enough for FC Barcelona to take all three points at the Estádio do Dragão on matchday two. The visitors held on despite the sending off of Gavi, who received a late red card for a second booking.
This makes five consecutive victories once morest Porto for Barça, who had lost three of the first four meetings between the two teams.
The two teams met in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco, with Barcelona winning the trophy for the fourth time by winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Lionel Messi (39th) and Cesc Fàbregas (88th). ) at the end of each half. Porto finished nine following late red cards to Rolando and Fredy Guarín. Current FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández played 90 minutes for the winners.
Barcelona won 3-0 at home to Porto in the 1993/94 Champions League semi-final, with Hristo Stoichkov scoring twice in the first half and Ronald Koeman closing out the victory in the second half.
Barcelona beat Porto 4-2 at home and 2-0 away in the second group stage of the 1999/2000 Champions League. Rivaldo scored twice in the first match (Frank de Boer and Patrick Kluivert also scored and Mário Jardel scored twice for the visitors) and once in the second match.
On the teams
Barcelona
Barca have won 11 of their 14 home matches once morest Portuguese visitors, losing only the first, in 1972 once morest Porto, although they have drawn two of the last three.
This is Barcelona’s 28th Champions League group stage campaign, a record they share with Real Madrid. They have participated in every season since 2003/04.
Barcelona have won the C1 twice at Wembley, where this season’s final will take place; he beat Sampdoria 1-0 following extra time in 1992 to win the trophy for the first time, and also beat Manchester United 3-1 in 2011.
The five-time European champions reached the quarter-finals or better every season between 2007/08 and 2019/20, winning the title in 2009, 2011 and 2015, but failed to reach the round of 16 in each of the last two campaigns.
Xavi’s side were third in their group for the second successive season in 2022/23, winning just two of their six matches and losing three to finish behind Bayern München and eventual runners-up Inter Milan. Barcelona have failed to score in three of their Group C matches.
Barça’s subsequent UEFA Europa League campaign lasted just one match, with Manchester United eliminating them 4-3 on aggregate (2-2, 1-2) in the play-off round for the knockout phase.
This season, the Spanish club started with a 5-0 home win over Antwerp before beating Shakhtar 2-1 at home on matchday three following the victory at Porto, although their momentum was halted by a 1 defeat -0 once morest the Ukrainian club on the last day.
Barcelona have only won one European match at home in the last two seasons. Indeed, this season’s defeats once morest Antwerp and Shakhtar mean the club have won just four times in 14 European matches at their home stadium, with five defeats in that stretch.
The Catalan club won their 27th La Liga title, and first in four seasons, in 2022/23, finishing ten points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Porto
The Dragons have lost five of their last seven away matches once morest Spanish sides, winning just one – 2-0 at Athletic Club in the 2014/15 Champions League group stage .
Home and away, Porto have lost three of their last five matches once morest Spanish clubs (W1 D1).
Porto are participating in the Champions League group stage for the 27th time, tied with Bayern and one short of the record held by FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The Dragons were knocked out by eventual finalists Inter in the round of 16 of the 2022/23 season, losing 1-0 at Milan before drawing 0-0 in Portugal. Porto finished first in Group B ahead of Club Brugge, Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético de Madrid.
This season, Porto has only lost to Barcelona, beating Shakhtar 3-1 in Germany on matchday one and beating Antwerp 4-1 away and 2-1 at home.
The home win once morest Antwerp made it 15 wins in Porto’s last 32 matches in the Champions League proper (D4 L13).
Porto were European champions in 1987 and 2004. They are the only Portuguese club to have reached the final of the Champions League.
We know each other…
Nico González joined Porto from Barcelona over the summer. After signing for Barça in 2013, he made his first-team debut in August 2021 and made 37 appearances in all competitions that season, scoring two goals. He spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Valencia, scoring once in 26 La Liga appearances.
Played in Spain
Pepe (Real Madrid 2007-2017)
Iván Marcano (Racing Club 2006-09, Villarreal 2009/10, Getafe 2010/11)
Iván Jaime (Malaga 2018-20)
Fran Navarro (Valence 2014-21)
Toni Martinez (Valence B 2013-16, Valladolid 2017/18, Rayo Majadahonda 2018, Lugo 2019)
Pepe was part of the Madrid team that won the Champions League in 2013/14, 2015/16 and 2016/17, the 2014 Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2014 and 2016. He also won three La Liga titles and two Copas del Rey during his time in Spain.
Played in Portugal:
Raphinha (Vitoria SC 2015-18, Sporting CP 2018-19)
João Félix (Benfica 2015-19)
João Cancelo (Benfica 2007-14)
João Félix, who was part of Porto’s academy between 2008 and 2015 before joining Benfica, scored once morest the Dragons in Benfica’s 2-1 away win on March 2, 2019.
Cancelo has only played one Portuguese Liga match for Benfica, once morest Porto, a 2-1 defeat at the Estádio do Dragão on the final day of the 2013/14 season, when the Lisbon side were already crowned champion.
Teammates in selection
João Cancelo, João Félix & Pepe, Diogo Costa (Portugal)
Torres scored both of Spain’s goals in a 2-0 win over a Portuguese side including Porto’s João Mario in the 2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern Munchen beat Porto 6-1 in the second leg of the 2014/15 Champions League quarter-finals.
İlkay Gündoğan found the net in Manchester City’s 3-1 home win over Porto on matchday one of the 2020/21 Champions League.
Porto coach Sérgio Conceição came on as a substitute during Inter’s 0-0 draw with Barcelona in Milan in the second group stage of the 2002/03 Champions League. Xavi played the full 90 minutes for the visitors.
Vítor Baía and Deco won European trophies with both clubs and today sit on the boards of Porto and Barcelona respectively.
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