Jeez, Porto Is Pretty Good

By: Al | February 25th, 2009

What a hell of a match that was even greater from a neutral perspective. I never said that Porto wasn’t a good team, but I didn’t know that they were THIS good. The only conclusions that I could gather from Porto were from ESPN statistics and attempts to read Porto blogs in Portuguese (I don’t believe in online translators). If Atlético doesn’t make their mark in Europe, then Porto definitely will.

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ATLETICO 2- PORTO 2

Short highlights:

Super extended highlights:

Atletico Madrid v Porto

A 2-2 showdown was a real treat to watch, but each Lisandro goal was only a punch to the stomach. It hurt even more that Atlético’s lead was denied twice. Porto deserved to win the match more than we did, and if they haven’t finished with their punishment, then we’re as good as out of the competition.

A victory seemed too good to be true, and Maxi’s opening goal in the first few minutes made me reminisce about Kun Aguero’s opening goal against Marseille in the group stages. No better way to start the match off, and I’m very glad that Forlan accidentally couldn’t get ahold of the ball. Porto only responded with scoring chances and domination of the match for the following minutes.

When Lisandro scored Porto’s opener, the Atlético supporters quieted down and thought “aww shit dawg, these guys mean business”. They weren’t done there, and Hulk kept on pushing the ball forward and trying to service it to his fellow teammates who were only denied by bad luck. Lisandro should have done better but I’m glad that he didn’t. Hulk even had a one-on-one but Leo Franco blasted the ball away, leaving us supporters scared of a player named after a green comic book character.

Forlan’s goal was a mistake by Helton, who looked as sad as my 5 year old cousin after I refuse to play “trains” with him and was being hugged by all of his Porto teammates. The goal couldn’t have come at a better time, and we entered the break leading 2-1, shocked that Porto hadn’t been leading the match. The team was plenty confident after the break but still unprepared for what was to come.

The second half wasn’t too different. There were chances for both teams, but Porto still looked like the scariest side of the two. Lisandro’s goal was way too easy, and it was fitting that it was him who scored it, after screwing up big time in the first half. The scoring ceased after this and the game went on at a frantic pace. When the match was over, the Atlético squad was probably both disappointed at the result but relieved that they were done playing this match.

I’m already starting to have my doubts about Abel Resino. Apparently, he wrote an entire paper on the tactics of Porto. Aguirre would have never done that and his team would have won that match 2-0 or by more, only because they didn’t sit back and think, they just went at it and it actually worked. The defending wasn’t any better with Aguirre but who am I to compare the squad under both managers when one of them is gone.

I’m not undermining our new manager, because he’s still new, but I don’t see what’s up with his team selection. It’s not even “crazy but genius”, it’s just stupid. Why is Pablo playing instead of Heitinga? Why did Aguero get subbed so early? Atlético showed their usual flair but the man-marking was what brought us down. I’m also surprised to see that Leo Franco has taken the first-choice spot as the Atlético goalkeeper. Not saying that he’s bad or anything, but Coupet is just as good and there’s a reason that Aguirre would give each keeper a turn after every other match. Maybe Resino’s ex-goalkeeping instincts sees Franco’s superiority.

Facing Porto at the Dragao will be scary. Just to see Porto break through our defense so easily, like many Liga teams have been doing recently, goes to show that they are a better organized and hungrier team than Atletico is. For the next Champions League match, we’re going to have to score at least two goals or win. Until then, we face Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Liga.

FML

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