Juventus through after penalty, red card end Porto hopes
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Updated 14/03/2017 at 23:17 GMT
Juventus Stadium, Champions League last 16, Juventus 1 (P Dybala, 42' (p)) FC Porto 0.
Juventus' Paulo Dybala celebrates scoring their first goal with Leonardo Bonucci
Image credit: Reuters
Pereira was given his marching orders in the 40th minute after handling a shot by Gonzalo Higuain, and Argentine playmaker Paulo Dybala stroked home the penalty to send the Italian champions into Friday's quarter-final draw.
Max Allegri's side did most of the hard work in Portugal three weeks ago, bringing back a 2-0 lead to defend at the Juventus Stadium thanks to second-half strikes from substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves.
No team has ever progressed in the Champions League after losing the first leg 2-0 at home, and Nuno Esposito Santo's side never looked like history makers as La Vecchia Signora ground out the victory.
Juve have conceded just twice in the Champions League so far this season. Although Gianluigi Buffon could have lost out on his clean-sheet bonus early in the second half, had Porto's January transfer window signing Francisco Soares shown more composure when set free one on one with the Italian goalkeeping legend, after a mistake by Medhi Benatia.
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Juventus' Gianluigi Buffon and FC Porto's Iker Casillas after the match
Image credit: Resmi Siteden Alınmıştır
TALKING POINT
Can Juventus go all the way in the Champions League?
Juventus have dominated Italian football over the past few years, with Allegri's side closing in on a sixth successive Serie A title.
But it is the European stage that matters for Juve now. Inspired by Paul Pogba, they reached the final in 2015 only to be brushed aside by Barcelona in Berlin. Can they go one better than that this year?
Juve are now on a 21-match unbeaten home run in European competition, a sequence stretching back to 2013, and have added quality since 2015 with Gonzalo Higuain up front, and Paulo Dybala as playmaker. But they have lost Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez in that time, and perhaps lack the finesse of the giants of European football, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Marko Pjaca (Juventus)
Juve boss Allegri said before the game that "qualification is the only thing that counts" and his team took heed of their manager's words. The Italian champions shut up shop in the second half despite a three-goal aggregate lead, with Gonzalo Higuain anonymous and Sami Khedira barely featuring in midfield.
Any attacking impetus was provided by Pjaca, a goalscorer at the Estadio do Dragao three weeks ago, and a livewire presence again this evening in Turin following his introduction as a second-half replacement for Juan Cuadrado.
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FC Porto's Diogo Jota in action with Juventus' Marko Pjaca
Image credit: Reuters
KEY MOMENTS
23' – CHANCE! Mandzukic gets a bullet header onto Cuadrado's cross to the far post, but his effort is straight at Casillas.
28' – CHANCE! Dybala is unable to get a proper connection on Higuain's pull back from the right-hand touchline from Alves' pass down the line.
40' – RED CARD & PENALTY! Maxi Pereira handles from Higuain's goal-bound effort at the far post, after Casillas' unconvincing block from Sandro's header.
41' – GOAL! Juventus 1-0 FC Porto. Agg 3-0. Dybala sends Casillas the wrong way from 12 yards to make it 3-0 on aggregate.
50' - CHANCE! Benatia is caught in possession deep in his own half but Soares fails to get his shot on target from the left channel. What a chance that was!
65' – CHANCE! Higuain finds space on the edge of the box beyond Boly from Dybala's pass, but he pulls his shot wide.
82' – CHANCE! Jota flicks the ball wide of Buffon's goal after being set free by a slide-rule pass from fellow substitute Otavio down the left channel.
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Juventus' forward from Argentina Paulo Dybala (2ndL) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a penalty during the UEFA Champions League football match Juventus vs FC Porto on March 14, 2017 at the Juventus stadium in Turin.
Image credit: AFP
PLAYER RATINGS
Juventus: Buffon 7, Dani Alves 7, Bonucci 7, Benatia 7, Alex Sandro 7, Marchisio 7, Khedira 6, Cuadrado 7, Dybala 7, Mandzukic 7, Higuain 7. Subs: Barzagli 7, Pjaca 8, Rincon 6.
Porto: Casillas 6, Maxi Pereira 5, Marcano 7, Felipe 7, Layun 6, Danilo Pereira 6, Andre Andre 6, Oliver Torres 6, Brahimi 7, Andre Silva 6, Soares 6. Subs: Jose Sa, Boly 6, Otavio 7, Diogo Jota 7.
KEY FACTS
Juventus have avoided defeat in 11 of their last 12 Champions League knockout games at home (W7 D4)
Juve striker Gonzalo Higuain has scored only two goals in 22 Champions League knockout games. In the group stages, he has netted 13 goals in 38 games.
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