Herrera inspires Porto to impressive win at BATE

Hector Herrera's brilliant long-range strike inspired Porto to a 3-0 victory against BATE Borisov and put the Portuguese side on the brink of topping Group H.

After a dire first half on a freezing night in Belarus, the game was crying out for an injection of quality and it was provided by the Mexico international, whose outstanding dipping shot from the corner of the penalty area took the wind out of BATE's sails.

With BATE rattled by the strike the Portuguese side struck again through Jackson Martinez, whose composed finish put the result beyond doubt after good work by Yacine Brahimi and Herrera.

Substitute Cristian Tello put the gloss on the win for Porto with an assured finish after a perfect through ball by Herrera.

While BATE are now out of the Champions League, Porto remain unbeaten in this season's competition and are odds-on to top the group ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk.

56' GOAL! BATE 0-1 Porto: What a goal this is by Herrera! Karnitskiy is caught in possession on the edge of the BATE box and Herrera unleashes a thunderous dipping effort.

65' GOAL! BATE 0-2 Porto: Martinez makes it 2-0 to Porto! Brahimi's low cross from the left finds Herrera, who tees up Martinez, who finishes first-time into the bottom corner. A shot from the corner of the penalty area that takes BATE keeper Chernik completely by surprise.

86' Chance for Porto! Herrera almost gets his second goal of the night but can't quite connect with the cross, which was whipped in brilliantly from the right wing.

88' GOAL! BATE 0-3 Porto: Tello makes it 3-0! A good run and neat finish by Tello, but this goal is all about Herrera again, who spots the run and delivers and inch-perfect through-ball.

BATE have conceded 22 goals in their five matches so far, equalling the Champions League record set by Dinamo Zagreb in 2011/12 and Nordsjaelland in 2012/13.

Porto are now nine matches unbeaten on their travels this season, winning five and drawing four.

How far can Porto go in the Champions League? With Brahimi and Martinez in attack, and Herrera just behind them, they could surprise a few people this year. And as almost certain group winners, they are likely to avoid the strongest teams still in the competition. Dark horses, for sure.

Hector Herrera (Porto) - A goal and two assists makes him an obvious choice. This game was a long way from a classic before Herrera illuminated it with his brilliant individual effort, and his roles in the second goal and third goals were vital. An accomplished display.

BATE: Chernik 6, Gayduchik 6, Mladenović 6, Tubić 6, Yablonski 6, Karnitski 5, A Volodko 6, Olekhnovich 6, M Volodko 6, Rodionov 6, Gordeychuk 6 SUBS: Aleksievich 6, Baga 6, Signevich 6.

PORTO: Fabiano 7, Danilo 7, Martins Indi 7, Marcano 6, Alex Sandro 7, Casemiro 7, Brahimi 7, Herrera 9, Torres 7, Quaresma 6, Martínez 8 SUBS: Tello 8, Adrián López 7.