Champions League takeaways: How Juventus' wall crumbled vs. Porto; Haaland out of this world for Dortmund

 


The UEFA Champions League has its first two quarterfinalists as Dortmund and Porto punched their tickets on Tuesday. Porto pulled off the shocker to eliminate Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus, while Dortmund were in control but had a bit of a hectic finish to get past Sevilla.

After Tuesday's action, here are two takeaways from each match.

Juve's wall crumbles

There were many reasons why Juventus will watch the rest of the Champions League from home the rest of the way, but the biggest talking point following the elimination to Porto was what  went on during the free kick that proved to be the game-winning goal. Sergio Oliveira's 115th-minute strike on a set piece gave Porto the away goal they needed to move on the quarterfinals despite playing with 10 men. And in that minute or so span, everything that could go wrong did.

First it starts off with the foul by Weston McKennie to give them the free kick. Let's call it what it is -- a soft foul. Unfortunate, but it happens both ways. 

Then there is the wall that Juve put up, which looked like one from a crumbling house with a foundation that has been eroding for years, much like Juve's quality. During the free kick, which Oliveira didn't particularly strike with the greatest of precision, the wall -- which included Cristiano Ronaldo -- was turned before the shot was even taken, they didn't remain firm in position, and that allowed space for the ball to sneak through. Heck, even that tactic of laying down a player behind the wall would have done the trick. You cannot get beat by an effort like that.

And lastly, there is the poor execution by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who by no means handled the situation well. 

Here's what the Paramount+ studio show over in London had to say about it:

They could not have been more spot on. 

"They actually look like they are trying to get out of the way," Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher said, while saying it reminded him of kids playing. 

And he's right. It's that attention to detail, that little extra bit of heart that was missing across the two legs. And as a result, Juve will be missing from the quarterfinals once again. 

Out of all the things Juve needed to do on that set piece defensively, they did none. And because of it, they will need to reevaluate how they defend set pieces, while also evaluating whether Andrea Pirlo leading this team is the right call after laying yet another egg. 

Porto were fully deserving

Make no mistake about it -- Porto are fully deserving of advancing. Sure, they had had to withstand 31 shots, and Agustin Marchesin made 11 saves, several brilliant, but they took advantage of almost every opportunity. Whether it was the lightning fast goals in each of the halves of the first leg or scoring on a penalty and a free kick in this one, they remained calm throughout.

Though they were hanging by a thread late in extra time, down a man, and under unrelenting pressure, their passing was precise, they were composed when they needed to be, and they defended with their lives. Pepe, 38, had 18 clearances on the night and won every single one of his aerial duels to contain Ronaldo and end his European dreams.

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Haaland does it again

After 35 minutes on the back foot against Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund managed to create one chance for Erling Haaland. It was all he needed. The young striker drifted into space vacated by Jules Kounde to tap home Marco Reus' cutback and hand his side a 4-2 lead in the tie.

That would soon become 5-2, albeit not in the fashion any neutral would have wanted. Haaland bullied his way through the Sevilla defense early in the second half before thundering a shot past Bono at the near post. This was a goal worthy of winning any tie but was struck off by VAR and referee Cuneyt Cekir, who would then hand the striker another chance to reach 20 Champions League goals in 14 games, flagging a foul by Kounde several minutes earlier. Even a double save from Bono could not deny Haaland with the Sevilla goalkeeper having drifted off his line. Naturally the Norwegian was not going to let another opportunity go to waste.

Haaland now has as many Champions League goals this season as Atalanta and three more than Atletico Madrid. Harry Kane had held the previous record for fastest to 20 in the competition, scoring them in 24 games. Haaland needed 10 fewer. Kylian Mbappe hit the mark the day before his 22nd birthday. There are 134 days until Haaland turns 21.

It has been apparent for some time that Haaland was destined to be something special but his first two games in the knockout stages, which have brought four goals and carried an underwhelming Dortmund side to the quarter finals, have only heightened the sense that he could go on to be one of the game's great goal scorers.

Familiar failings for Sevilla

Julen Lopetegui's side started in exceptional fashion at the Westfalenstadion, Lucas Ocampos thumping a powerful effort at goal that was smartly saved by Marwin Hitz in the second minute. It seemed to set the stage for an attack-minded performance from Sevilla. Yet it was nearly an hour before the Dortmund goalkeeper had to make another save, Joan Jordan striking Sevilla's first shot on target inside the box in the 58th minute. By that time they were 5-2 down in the tie.

Sevilla repeated their problems from the first leg, dominating the ball but struggling to create any clear cut chances with it. It was hard not to empathize with Lopetegui. Ocampos' return and that of Marcos Acuna sparked a bit of life into the left flank but that aside too much of the play was slow and lacking incision until the introduction of Alejandro Gomez and Luuk De Jong on the hour.

The latter earned a penalty when Emre Can shoved him to the floor whilst Gomez was the only player asking questions Dortmund weren't expecting. Youssef En-Nesyri's late header to follow his penalty offered Sevilla a minute of hope they could earn extra time but it would have been far more than they deserved.

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