Football: Porto record first win over sluggish Juventus | ABS-CBN

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Football: Porto record first win over sluggish Juventus

Football: Porto record first win over sluggish Juventus

Reuters

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FC Porto's Moussa Marega celebrates scoring their second goal with teammate Mehdi Taremi. Pedro Nunes, Reuters

Goals from Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega propelled Porto to their first ever victory over Juventus in the Champions League after they secured a 2-1 win over the Italian champions in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday.

On a night when little went Juventus's way, Federico Chiesa's late strike at least handed them a lifeline going into the return leg in Turin on March 9.

Taremi pounced on a sloppy back pass after 63 seconds to fire in the opener, rattling Juventus who failed to create any meaningful chances before halftime.

Things got worse for Andrea Pirlo’s side when Marega blasted in Porto’s second 19 seconds into the second half.

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Juventus eventually mustered a response when Chiesa fired in a precious away goal with eight minutes remaining, but it was not enough to stop the 2004 European champions from celebrating their first win over the Italian club at the fifth attempt.

"Up to the 70th minute we blocked out Juve, we did a good job defensively," Porto coach Sergio Conceicao told Sky Sport Italia.

"We knew we could create problems for them with a high press, blocking their strong points, and they have many.

"On a strategic level it was a good game, but we’re only halfway."

Chiesa's strike ended Porto’s run of five consecutive clean sheets in the competition and left the tie wide open.

"Our approach made the game an uphill struggle," Chiesa said. "We conceded a goal after a few seconds and in the Champions League when you’re not fully focused they will punish you. The away goal will give us strength for the second leg."

Juve impressed in the group stage by winning five games from six, including a 3-0 victory at Barcelona.

DREADFUL START

But they made a dreadful start when Taremi anticipated Rodrigo Bentancur’s pass back to Wojciech Szczesny and slid in to shoot past the goalkeeper from close range.

Juve were knocked off their stride by Porto’s pressing and were almost caught out again when Szczesny cleared the ball to Sergio Oliveira whose shot was deflected wide.

Matters got worse for the Turin club when captain Giorgio Chiellini limped off injured after 34 minutes.

Porto were even quicker out of the blocks in the second half as Marega got on the end of a Wilson Manafa cut-back to fire home within seconds of the restart.

Szczesny stopped an Oliveira shot from making it three, but the visitors came to life in the final 20 minutes.

Agustin Marchesin palmed away a deflected Chiesa shot, before the Italy international raced on to a pass and cushioned a finish into the corner.

The goal made Chiesa the first Juventus player other than Cristiano Ronaldo to score a knockout stage goal in the Champions League since Blaise Matuidi in 2018.

Ronaldo, the competition’s all-time top scorer, was largely quiet on his return to his home country, but he had appeals for a penalty waved away in stoppage time after going down under a challenge.

(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ed Osmond)

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UST Growling Tigresses gun for third straight victory in WMPBL

UST Growling Tigresses gun for third straight victory in WMPBL

ABS-CBN News

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University of Santo Tomas’ Brigette Santos in action in the 2025 WMPBL Invitationals. Photo handoutUniversity of Santo Tomas’ Brigette Santos in action in the 2025 WMPBL Invitationals. Photo handout

MANILA — University of Santo Tomas returns for another week of 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) Invitationals action on Wednesday.

The 2-0 Growling Tigresses are determined to secure their third straight win when they face Centro Escolar University (1-2), 6:00 p.m., at the Enderun Gym and look to pick up where they left off last January 29.

Kent Pastrana and standout rookie Karylle Sierba are once again expected to lead the charge for the former UAAP champions as they look to remain one of only two unbeaten teams in the league, alongside Galeries Tower.

UST is aiming to secure its third consecutive win after an 82-67 triumph over Discovery Perlas and a dominant 75-32 victory over PSP.

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Over at the other side, the Lady Scorpions head into the match-up coming off a gutsy 68-65 win over EZ Jersey. CEU will lean on the 1-2 punch of Claire Tapinit and Diana Defeles as they look to sustain their momentum and make it two straight victories.

Earlier in the day, New Zealand-Bluefire will open the triple-header against Far Eastern University at 4:00 p.m.

The Valkyries, led by Snow Peñaranda, look to make it three victories in a row to improve their standings to 4-1, while the Lady Tamaraws (1-2) will try to rebound after a tough 61-76 defeat against Philippine Navy.

In the nightcap, San Juan looks to bounce back against the Luisa San Juan-led Cavite-TOL at 8:00 p.m.

The Lady Knights (2-1), who suffered their first loss against Pilipinas Aguilas last February 5, look to vent their ire against a Patriots side that was coming off its first win after three tries.

Games in this league will air live on IBC 13 and stream via the league’s official Facebook page and YouTube channel.  

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