Thu. Dec 19th, 2024

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Goals from Mehdi Taremi and Stephen Eustaquio helped Porto secure a 2-1 win at home to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday to finish top of Champions League Group B.

Porto had already qualified for the last 16 but leapfrogged Club Brugge to finish as group winners with 12 points, one point ahead of the Belgians who also went through.

Atletico finished last, failing even to qualify for the second-tier Europa League knockout round play-offs.

Porto went ahead in the fifth minute when forward Taremi tapped in a cross from Evanilson, registering his fifth goal in the Champions League this season.

Midfielder Eustaquio doubled Porto’s lead in the 24th minute, drilling the ball into the bottom corner after Galeno sprinted down the left and played a cross inside the box.

Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann found the net in the 68th minute but the referee had already blown the whistle for a foul by Rodrigo De Paul on Galeno in the build-up, while Porto keeper Diogo Costa saved a shot from Angel Correa six minutes later.

Porto defender Ivan Marcano scored an own goal in added time, but it did not do much damage to Porto who went on to seal three points.

Brugge finish second and Leverkusen third in Group B

Club Brugge finished second in the group after failing to win at Bayer Leverkusen instead drawing 0-0.

Upstarts Brugge had already qualified for February’s round of 16 following their first four games after emerging as the surprise package of the group campaign.

But a 4-0 defeat at home to Porto last week and the draw at the Bay Arena on Tuesday meant they ended on 11 points from their six games, one behind Porto.

Leverkusen finished third to take a Europa League place ahead of bottom side Atletico on their head-to-head results against the Spanish club after both finished on five points.

Brugge came closest to victory on Tuesday when their Canada international Tajon Buchanan struck the upright shortly after halftime although Leverkusen were the more attacking and forced visiting goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to make some key saves.

Mignolet kept five clean sheets in the six group games.



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By Dave Jenks

Dave Jenks is an American novelist and Veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Between those careers, he’s worked as a deckhand, commercial fisherman, divemaster, taxi driver, construction manager, and over the road truck driver, among many other things. He now lives on a sea island, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, with his wife and youngest daughter. They also have three grown children, five grand children, three dogs and a whole flock of parakeets. Stinnett grew up in Melbourne, Florida and has also lived in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and Cozumel, Mexico. His next dream is to one day visit and dive Cuba.