Porto snatch it at the death against Salzburg
Porto left it painfully late to see off Red Bull Salzburg 1-0 on the opening night of the Europa League, as substitute Gomes struck in stoppage time to keep the Portuguese giants’ perfect start to the season intact.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two clubs – both fresh off their Club World Cup exploits – and the game caught fire inside the opening minutes. Borja Sainz almost had the hosts ahead after just three minutes, his half-volley rattling the crossbar with Schager well beaten. Salzburg responded in kind, Petar Ratkov rounding Diogo Costa only to see Jakub Kiwior get back and hack off the line.
Kiwior thought he’d made an impact at the other end too, bundling the ball home midway through the half, but the referee rightly chalked it off for a blatant Samu Agehowa handball in the build-up. Salzburg skipper Mads Bidstrup then tested Costa after nicking the ball off Sainz on the edge of the box, before Porto finished the half on the front foot, with Froholdt and Veiga both going close.
Ten minutes into the second half, the home crowd thought they had their breakthrough as Ratkov tucked away a rebound after Yeo’s strike was parried, but VAR cut celebrations short for an offside in the build-up. From then on, Salzburg never quite hit the same level, blunt in attack despite carrying a six-game winning streak into the contest.
They did have one glorious opening with 11 minutes to go, as Vertessen broke clean through, but the Belgian dragged his effort wide under pressure from Costa. It was a miss that would sting badly. In the fourth minute of added time, Gomes picked his spot from the edge of the area and found the corner with a low curling finish that Schager will feel he should’ve done better with.
Relief for Porto, despair for Salzburg, who are now winless in four. For Sérgio Conceição’s men, it’s another grind of a result but they won’t care – their season is still running at 100 percent.