Sanusi heartbreak as Porto crash out against Inter

UCL Sanusi heartbreak as Porto crash out against Inter

Ayoola Kelechi 23:04 - 14.03.2023

Zaidu Sanusi and Porto lose on aggregate to Inter

Nigerian defender Zaidu Sanusi and his Porto side left the Estadio Dragao heartbroken after crashing out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 against Inter. 

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After a 1-0 first-leg loss, Porto played out a 0-0 second-leg against Inter to lose on aggregate. 

In the end, Romelu Lukaku’s 86th-minute goal at San Siro was enough over the two legs as Inter sneaked into the quarterfinals. 

How it happened

Inter and Porto already played out a 1-0 scoreline in the first leg after Lukaku scored late on to give Inter an advantage in the tie, and it was down to Porto to try and overturn the tie in Portugal. 

For much of the match, Porto were on top and had several chances to draw level and even win the game, but their profligacy eventually caught up to them as Inter dug in their heels to see out a 0-0 draw in Portugal and a 1-0 win on aggregate. 

Porto hit the woodwork twice and missed a flurry of chances towards the end of the match as Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi and ex-Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic both missed good chances in extra time to level the match for Porto and send the tie into extra time. 

Porto eventually ended the game with 10 men, as Pepe the Brazilian got sent off in the last minute of extra time. Inter barely had any chances to get a goal on the night, as their forwards were kept quiet for the entire game. 

Luckily for Inter, they had already taken care of business in the first leg and pulled through by the skin of their teeth to reach the quarterfinal. 

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