Porto vs Inter facts

Porto take on Inter Milan in a finely-poised second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, with the Italian side holding a narrow advantage thanks to Romelu Lukaku's late winner in Italy.

Inter goalkeeper André Onana and Porto counterpart Diogo Costa both produced a number of fine stops in a tight first leg at San Siro, before the visitors lost Otávio to a second yellow card 12 minutes from time, Lukaku coming off the bench to force in an 86th-minute winner.

Porto have reached the last eight in two of the last four seasons, with head coach Sérgio Conceição, an Inter player for two seasons, aiming to overcome his former club to take the Portuguese side into the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the eighth time overall.

Inter have not reached the last eight since 2010/11 but qualified for the round of 16 for the second season in a row by finishing second in Group C, eight points behind Bayern München but three ahead of Barcelona. Porto, meanwhile, recovered from losing their first two games to win the next four and snatch first place in Group B from Club Brugge.

This is Inter's 200th European Cup match. They are the 15th club to reach that milestone.

Previous meetings

All four of the clubs' encounters before this tie came in 2005, Inter coming out on top in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League round of 16. The first leg in Porto finished 1-1, Obafemi Martins' 24th-minute opener for the visitors cancelled out by Ricardo Costa a minute past the hour; in the San Siro return, an Adriano double (6, 63) gave Inter a two-goal cushion, Jorge Costa halving the Porto deficit in the 69th minute before Adriano completed his hat-trick three minutes from time.

Inter went on to lose 5-0 on aggregate to neighbours AC Milan in the quarter-finals.

The teams were also paired in the following season's group stage, Porto winning 2-0 at home on Matchday 3 thanks to a Marco Materazzi own goal (22) and Benni McCarthy (35).

Porto also struck first in Milan on Matchday 4, Hugo Almeida giving them a 16th-minute lead before a late double from Julio Cruz (75pen, 82) turned the match in Inter's favour.

Those three points helped Inter finish six points clear in Group H on 13 points, with Porto bottom on five, that win against the Nerazzurri their sole victory.

Pepe was a late substitute in Porto's 3-1 loss at Inter in 2004/05 and played all 180 minutes of the following season's fixtures between the clubs.

Form guide

Porto

Porto are making their 26th appearance in the UEFA Champions League proper, level with Bayern and one short of Barcelona and Real Madrid's competition record. They have featured in 11 of the last 12 campaigns.

In 2021/22, Conceição's side finished third in their section behind Liverpool and Atlético de Madrid, winning only one of their six games. It was the first time Porto had failed to progress from their UEFA Champions League group since 2015/16.

The Dragons therefore moved into the UEFA Europa League, beating Lazio in the knockout play-offs (2-1 h, 2-2 a) but losing to Lyon in the round of 16 (0-1 h, 1-1 a).

Conceição's team claimed the Portuguese Liga and cup in 2021/22 – Porto's ninth domestic double and second in three seasons.

Porto began this season with a 2-1 defeat at Atlético – all three goals coming in added time, a UEFA Champions League first – before going down 4-0 at home to Club Brugge. They revived their challenge with home (2-0) and away (3-0) wins against Bayer Leverkusen, turned the tables on Club Brugge with a 4-0 away victory and climbed above the Belgian champions with a 2-1 home victory against Atleti.

That Matchday 6 win was Porto's 12th in their last 27 matches in the UEFA Champions League proper (D3 L12).

The Matchday 2 loss to Club Brugge was only Porto's third in their last 14 home games in the UEFA Champions League group stage, with ten victories in that sequence.

Porto have now reached the round of 16 or better on seven of their last ten UEFA Champions League group stage appearances.

Porto's overall record in the round of 16 is W5 L7; they have won only three of their last seven ties although they were victorious in the two most recent, both against Italian opponents after extra time: Roma in 2018/19 (1-2 a, 3-1 h) and Juventus in 2020/21 (2-1 h, 2-3 a).

The first-leg loss at Inter made Porto's record in their 39 matches against Italian opponents W12 D11 L16. At home it is W8 D6 L4, with wins in the last four.

The Dragons' record in two-legged knockout ties against Italian teams is W8 L4; they have won the last three.

Porto have lost their two European finals against Serie A sides – 2-1 to Juventus in the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup and 1-0 to AC Milan in the 2003 UEFA Super Cup.

Porto have won only five of the 23 UEFA competition ties in which they lost the away first leg, most recently going down to Bayer Leverkusen in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (1-2 a, 1-3 h). The Dragons have also lost five of the six ties in which they were beaten 1-0 in the away first leg, most recently losing 4-1 on penalties to Schalke in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (1-0 h). Their only success was against Vítkovice in the second round of their triumphant 1986/87 European Cup campaign (3-0 h).

Porto's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2:
3-5 v Sampdoria, 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
8-7 v Once Caldas, 2004 European/South American Cup
1-4 v Schalke, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16

Inter

This is the Nerazzurri's 16th UEFA Champions League campaign and a fifth in a row, their longest run since they appeared for ten successive seasons between 2002/03 and 2011/12.

Simone Inzaghi's side ended the club's run of three successive group stage eliminations last term by finishing second behind Real Madrid in Group D; Inter recovered after taking only one point from their first two fixtures to finish on ten and reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2011/12.

Inter's campaign ended in the first knockout round, however, despite a 1-0 second-leg win at Liverpool, the damage having been done by a 2-0 loss in the first game in Milan.

This season Inter's Group C campaign started and finished with 2-0 defeats against Bayern, but they remained unbeaten in between those losses, collecting ten points including a decisive four against Barcelona (1-0 h, 3-3 a) and wrapping up progress with a 4-0 success at home to Viktoria Plzeň on Matchday 5.

The Milan club have now reached the UEFA Champions League knockout stage for the 12th time.

Inter's record in the round of 16 is W4 L5, the defeats all in their last seven ties.

Inter were second in Serie A in 2021/22, finishing two points behind city rivals AC Milan.

Despite wins at Sheriff and Liverpool last season and Plzeň this, Inter have managed only five victories in their last 15 away UEFA Champions League games (D3 L7).

The first leg was Inter's first game against a Portuguese club since the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage, when they lost 1-0 at Sporting CP but won at home by the same scoreline.

That defeat in Lisbon was a second in a row in Portugal for Inter, who have won only once in the country, 2-0 in Porto at Boavista in the UEFA Cup third round second leg in December 1996. Their away record against Portuguese clubs otherwise is D4 L4.

Home and away, Inter have now won 11 of their 20 games with Portuguese clubs, drawing five.

The Nerazzurri last faced a Portuguese side in a knockout tie when beating Porto in 2004/05. That made their aggregate record in two-legged ties against Portuguese clubs W5 L3; they have won the last four.

Inter claimed their second European Cup with a 1-0 win against Porto's domestic rivals Benfica in the 1965 final, which was held at their San Siro home.

Inter have a formidable record when winning the first leg at home in UEFA competition, emerging triumphant in all but four of the 45 ties in which they have recorded an initial victory, most recently against CFR Cluj in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (2-0 h, 3-0 a). The Nerazzurri have won ten of the 11 UEFA competition ties in which they won 1-0 in the home first leg, most recently overcoming CSKA Moskva in the quarter-final of their victorious UEFA Champions League campaign in 2009/10 (1-0 a). Their only defeat after a 1-0 first-leg home win was on penalties against Aston Villa (0-1 a) in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup first round.

Inter's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
5-4 v Celtic, 1971/72 European Cup semi-final
3-4 v Aston Villa, 1994/95 UEFA Cup first round
5-3 v Grazer AK, 1996/97 UEFA Cup second round
1-4 v Schalke, 1996/97 UEFA Cup final

Links and trivia

Porto coach Conceição played alongside Inter counterpart Inzaghi at Lazio in 1999/2000 and 2003/04.

Conceição and Inzaghi won the 1999/2000 Serie A-Coppa Italia double together with Lazio, adding another domestic cup in 2003/04 after Conceição had rejoined the Rome club.

Conceição, who also played in Serie A with Parma in 2000/01, was an Inter player from 2001 to 2003, making 65 appearances in all competitions and scoring twice. He started both legs of Inter's away-goals defeat by Milan in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League semi-finals (0-0 a, 1-1 h).

Conceição's assistant Rui Barros played in Italy for Juventus between 1988 and 1990.

Has played in Italy:
Iván Marcano (Roma 2018/19)

Marcano was in the Rubin Kazan side that drew 2-2 at Inter in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Have played together:
Iván Marcano & Edin Džeko (Roma 2018/19)

Latest news

Porto 

UEFA Champions League squad changes 

In: None
Out: None

Porto made it eight wins in nine Portuguese Liga games (L1) with a 3-2 home victory against Estoril on Friday, Marco Grujić scoring his first league goal of the season and André Franco his second, and first since September. Substitute Mehdi Taremi got the winner from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute.

Porto have lost ground to Portuguese Liga leaders Benfica since the first leg, suffering a 2-1 loss at home to Gil Vicente on 26 February in a game the Dragons ended with nine men.

Taremi also got Porto's goal against Gil Vicente and has 22 goals and ten assists in all competitions this season. He is Porto's top scorer in 2022/23.

That defeat by Gil Vicente ended Porto's 11-match unbeaten league run (W9 D2), since a 1-0 home reverse against Benfica on 21 October.

Porto were on a ten-match winning run and unbeaten in 22 (W19 D3) in all competitions before losing at Inter.

Defeat by Gil Vicente was the first time Porto had lost successive matches in all competitions since August 2019.

Porto responded with a 3-1 win at Chaves on 4 March, Danny Loader scoring his first league goal of the season and Otávio his fourth, making it his most prolific campaign for Porto. Toni Martínez got the third; he has two goals in his last four appearances.

Sérgio Conceição's side have conceded only 17 goals in their 24 league fixtures in 2022/23, although they have let in five in the last three.

Porto were 2-1 winners at Sporting CP on 12 February, ending a run of six successive clean sheets. They have conceded only 12 goals in 23 games since Matchday 6.

Porto have reached the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, where they will play Famalicão on 25/26 April and 2/3 May, scoring 14 goals without conceding in beating Anadia (6-0), Mafra (3-0), Arouca (4-0) and Académico de Viseu (1-0).

Porto claimed the Portuguese League Cup for the first time with a 2-0 win against holders Sporting CP in the final on 28 January.

That was Conceição's ninth trophy with Porto, the most for a coach in the club's history.

Galeno came on as a substitute on Friday, his first appearance since suffering an adductor injury in the first-leg loss at Inter.

Evanilson has been out with a thigh injury since the loss in Milan.

Fábio Cardoso (calf) has not played since 1 February while Gabriel Veron's last appearance came on 25 January due to an ankle problem, although he was an unused substitute on Friday.

Diogo Costa has extended his contract with Porto until 2027.

Otávio (Footballer of the Year) and Diogo Costa (Athlete of the Year) were recognised at the 2022 Golden Dragons gala, an annual event that rewards Porto players of all levels.

Inter

UEFA Champions League squad changes

In: None
Out: Dennis Curatolo, Aleksandar Stankovic

Inter went down 2-1 at Spezia on Friday, making it successive away Serie A defeats and three away games without a win (D1) despite Romelu Lukaku making it 1-1 from the penalty spot with seven minutes to go.

Lautaro Martínez missed an early penalty at Spezia; the Argentinian has failed to convert four of his last eight spot kicks since 2021/22, fewer only than Real Madrid's Karim Benzema (five) in Europe's big five leagues.

Inter's six-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W5 D1) was ended by a 1-0 loss at Bologna in Serie A on 26 February.

The Nerazzurri bounced back with a 2-0 home win against Lecce on 5 March thanks to goals by Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Martínez.

On 18 February Inter were 3-1 winners at home to Udinese, Lukaku opening the scoring from the penalty spot with his first Serie A goal since 13 August.

After the first leg against Porto, that 1-0 loss at Bologna meant Inter had failed to score in two consecutive away games for the first time since a three-match run in April 2018.

Inter have already lost eight games in Serie A this term, one more than in the last two seasons combined. They have lost eight or more games after 26 Serie A games only twice before since 1994/95, in 1998/99 (ten defeats) and 2011/12 (11).

After helping Argentina to win the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, making six appearances, Martínez has already scored nine goals for Inter in 2023 in all competitions, including seven of their last 11 in Serie A.

Martínez is the 12th player to reach 70 Serie A goals for Inter and only the third foreigner after Mauro Icardi and Stefano Nyers. The Argentinian is also the first player in double figures for goals scored in each of the last four Serie A campaigns.

Inter have kept eight clean sheets in 15 games in all competitions in 2023.

The sixth was a 0-0 draw at Sampdoria on 13 February. It was the Nerazzurri's first goalless draw in Serie A since 25 February 2022, against Genoa in the same stadium.

Simone Inzaghi's men reached the Coppa Italia semi-finals after beating Parma 2-1 after extra time on 10 January and Atalanta 1-0 on 31 January, both at home. They will face Juventus in the last four on 4 and 25 April.

The Nerazzurri won the Italian Super Cup on 18 January, beating city rivals AC Milan 3-0.

On 4 January Edin Džeko scored the only goal as Inter defeated Serie A leaders Napoli, the first league loss of the season for the Partenopei. Džeko has scored 20 Serie A goals for Inter, all of them after turning 35; the club's other over-35 scorers combined have managed 19 goals.

On 2 February Matteo Darmian, who scored the only goal of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Atalanta, renewed his contract until 2024.

Joaquín Correa suffered a thigh injury ahead of the Milan derby on 5 February and has not played since.

Milan Škriniar (back) has not played since going off against Porto while Federico Dimarco (stomach muscles) returned as a substitute on Friday, his first appearance since the round of 16 first leg.