Brazilian Forward’s Late Screamer Seals Victory for Porto, Questions Raised Over Arsenal’s Performance
In a dramatic turn of events, Brazilian forward Wenderson Galeno secured a stunning last-minute victory for FC Porto against Arsenal in their Champions League round of 16 encounter.
Despite missing two clear opportunities earlier in the game, the 26-year-old redeemed himself with a breathtaking 25-yard strike in the dying moments of Wednesday’s match at the Estadio do Dragao. Galeno capitalized on a misplaced pass from Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, blasting the ball past goalkeeper David Raya to clinch the win.
According to Opta, Galeno’s late goal marked the first-ever 90th-minute winning goal conceded by Arsenal in a Champions League fixture, cementing Porto’s triumph in spectacular fashion.
However, questions emerged regarding Raya’s positioning during the decisive moment, with critics suggesting that he could have done better to prevent Galeno’s strike.
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon, analyzing the match for BBC Radio 5 Live, remarked, “The ball reaches Galeno, and Arsenal fail to close him down quickly enough, perhaps for the first time all evening. But I also have to question the goalkeeper; the ball almost goes over him rather than past him. He was too far out of his goal when Galeno took the shot.”
Lennon continued, praising Porto’s resilience in nullifying Arsenal’s attacks and executing a smash-and-grab victory.
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his disappointment with his team’s performance in the post-match interview, particularly criticizing their inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
“We have to manage much better when we cannot win,” Arteta stated. “Our handling of the ball in deep areas was not good enough. We lacked threat and aggression, especially in the final third. We need to attack better and be more purposeful to hurt our opponents.”
With the tie now poised for the return leg at the Emirates Stadium, both teams will be looking to regroup and make necessary adjustments as they seek passage to the Champions League quarter-finals.
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