João Cancelo and João Félix scored in each half to give Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win at home against Porto on Tuesday and book their spot in the knockouts of the 2023 UEFA Champions League.
Five-time Champions Barca have not made the knockouts in the last three seasons. And now, they made it with one-game remaining.
Barcelona are top of Group H on 12 points, three ahead of Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. The other two teams would play against each other to determine who would make it out of the group with Barcelona.
Barca need at least a draw against bottom side Antwerp in two weeks’ time to guarantee top spot in the group.
Porto’s Pepe, booed by Barca fans because of his time in Real Madrid, became the fifth oldest player in Champions League history at 40 years and 275 days.
Porto were fired up from the beginning of the match, mounting pressure on Barca’s goalkeeper and they had their breakthrough in the 31st minute, with Brazilian winger Pepe firing home the rebound after Pena denied Evanilson.
Two minutes later, Cancelo equalized for the home team, cutting in from the left to bypass a defender and beat Costa with a beautiful strike.
In the 57th minute, Joao Felix made it two for Xavi’s men, exchanging passes with Cancelo before tapping the ball into the back of the net.
