Substitute Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal as Inter Milan beat 10-man Porto in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Lukaku converted a rebound after his first effort had bounced off the post in the 86th minute at the San Siro.
Porto had a double chance at 0-0, but Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana denied both Zaidu Sanusi and Mehdi Taremi.
The visitors had Otavio sent off in the 78th minute for two bookable offences and could not keep Inter out.
The second leg takes place at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday, 14 March.
Lukaku, who has played for Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and Manchester United, came on in the 58th minute for ex-Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko and became the match-winner after he reacted quickest when his header hit the woodwork.
Both sides will regret missed chances. Inter, second in Serie A, nearly scored in the last minute of the first half but Alessandro Bastoni’s header was tipped over by Diogo Costa.
Hakan Calhanoglu had also seen an earlier header pushed over, with Lautaro Martinez heading over when unmarked from six yards out.
Porto also had their moments when it was goalless, but Mateus Uribe and Taremi missed opportunities.
Second in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, Sergio Conceicao’s side had Otavio sent off after he had been booked for dissent in the first half and then shown a second yellow card for a foul on Calhanoglu.
Otavio will now miss the second leg, but Porto will still fancy their chances of overturning the deficit at home in three weeks’ time.
Line-ups
Inter Milan
Formation 3-5-2
- 24Onana
- 37SkriniarSubstituted forDumfriesat 81′minutes
- 15Acerbi
- 95Bastoni
- 36Darmian
- 23Barella
- 20Çalhanoglu
- 22MkhitaryanSubstituted forBrozovicat 72′minutes
- 32DimarcoBooked at 41minsSubstituted forGosensat 58′minutes
- 10La Martínez
- 9DzekoSubstituted forLukakuat 58′minutes
Substitutes
- 1Handanovic
- 2Dumfries
- 5Gagliardini
- 6de Vrij
- 8Gosens
- 12Bellanova
- 14Asllani
- 21Cordaz
- 33D’Ambrosio
- 45Carboni
- 77Brozovic
- 90Lukaku
FC Porto
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 99Diogo Costa
- 23Neto LopesSubstituted forAlbuquerque Borgesat 90+2′minutes
- 3Pepe
- 5Marcano
- 12Sanusi
- 16Grujic
- 8Uribe
- 11Aquino CossaBooked at 63mins
- 25OtávioBooked at 78mins
- 13Rodrigues do Nascimento GalenoSubstituted forde Lima Barbosaat 51′minutes
- 9TaremiSubstituted forWendellat 83′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Cardoso
- 4Mota Veiga Teixeira Carmo
- 14Morais Ramos
- 17Fernandes da Conceição
- 19Namaso
- 20Russo Franco
- 22Wendell
- 29Martínez
- 30de Lima Barbosa
- 46Eustáquio
- 70Albuquerque Borges
- 87Pereira Folha
- Referee:
- Srdjan Jovanovic
- Attendance:
- 75,374
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Inter Milan 1, FC Porto 0.
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Second Half ends, Inter Milan 1, FC Porto 0.
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Foul by Hakan Çalhanoglu (Inter Milan).
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Evanilson (FC Porto) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Marko Grujic (FC Porto).
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Substitution, FC Porto. Gonçalo Borges replaces João Mário.
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Foul by Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan).
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Pepe (FC Porto) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Robin Gosens (Inter Milan).
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João Mário (FC Porto) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt missed. Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is high and wide to the left following a corner.
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Attempt saved. Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Francesco Acerbi.
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Attempt missed. Francesco Acerbi (Inter Milan) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Hakan Çalhanoglu with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Inter Milan. Conceded by Zaidu Sanusi.
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Goal! Inter Milan 1, FC Porto 0. Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.
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Attempt blocked. Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Nicolò Barella with a cross.
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Attempt missed. Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Marcelo Brozovic.
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Substitution, FC Porto. Wendell replaces Mehdi Taremi.
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Attempt blocked. Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Romelu Lukaku.
