Lazio’s good performance was not enough for the Biancocelesti to avoid defeat at the Estadio do Dragao on Thursday as Porto’s Toni Martinez canceled Mattia Zaccagni’s opener with a double.
Not all is lost for Maurizio Sarri and his boys, who will face the Portuguese side again in one week in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 32 playoff. Still, the Eagles left Porto with many regrets as they were in control for a good part of the game but were punished in the only two occasions when they committed a mistake.
Maurizio Sarri could not count on his key striker Ciro Immobile and deployed Felipe Anderson as a falso nueve to make up for his absence, supported by Pedro and Zaccagni.
Porto had the first chance of the game with a header from Pepe that hit the side netting. But it was Lazio to open the scoring on 23 minutes as Zaccagni conjured a magnificent back-heel deflection from a corner kick, catching Diogo Costa by surprise at the near post.
The Biancocelesti even came close to double their lead with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but this time Diogo Costa was alert and pushed back the Serbian’s conclusion with his foot. And so, when Porto found their equalizer it almost came as a surprise. The Lazio defense was too careless in the occasion as Toni Martinez headed the ball home from a right-hand cross from Joao Mario.
The same scheme worked well for Porto again on 49 minutes. Joao Mario crossed again from the right and Toni Martinez anticipated Luis Felipe to put the ball past Thomas Stakosha for the second time. The Spanish international could have had a third one but the Lazio goalkeeper defused his lob shot on 52 minutes, keeping Lazio afloat.
Lazio’s best chance to equalize came on 87 minutes but Felipe Anderson hit the side netting from a favorable position. It ended 2-1 for Porto, but the Biancocelesti proved they can be an even match for the Portuguese champions. Next week at the Stadio Olimpico, they will still be in full contention to qualify to the next Europa League round.