Porto 1-0 AC Milan: Diaz strike leaves timid Rossoneri without a point

Luis Diaz's second-half finish propelled Porto to their first win in the Champions League this season as they beat AC Milan 1-0 to leave the Italians staring at an early exit.

Sergio Conceicao's side were demolished 5-1 by Liverpool in their previous European outing, while Stefano Pioli's men suffered last-minute heartbreak against Atletico Madrid to leave both sides winless from their first two Group B games.

Diaz looked to seize the early initiative but was denied by the woodwork after just four minutes, with Medhi Taremi then spurning a series of chances.

However, Diaz managed to break the deadlock at Estadio do Dragao after the interval to condemn Milan to consecutive European away defeats for the first time since April 2012.

Diaz almost offered the hosts the perfect start, the Colombia international drilling a low drive against the left post before Taremi curled narrowly wide.

Olivier Giroud then misdirected a header after Rafael Leao's cross created Milan's first presentable opportunity, with Taremi missing a headed chance of his own before poking wide as Porto failed to make their first-half dominance pay.

Taremi remained persistent in his pursuit of the opener after the interval, dragging a left-footed strike narrowly off target after capitalising on Fikayo Tomori's mistake.

Tomori made amends with a last-ditch block to deny Otavio before Mateus Uribe arrowed just the wrong side of the left-hand post, but Porto did not have to wait much longer for their deserved opener.

The visitors felt Ismael Bennacer was fouled by Taremi in the build-up but referee Felix Brych disagreed as Diaz fired into the bottom-right corner after 65 minutes, with Pepe angling a rare left-footed effort wide three minutes later.

Pioli's team never looked like finding a late equaliser as Porto recorded their seventh clean sheet in their last eight group-stage matches in the competition.

What does it mean? Porto post first win as point-less Milan struggle

With Atletico losing to Liverpool, who have a perfect record in the group so far, there was a chance for both winless sides to make some ground on the top two.

Porto, who outfired their opposition 20-4 in terms of shots, grasped the opportunity to move level on four points with Diego Simeone's LaLiga champions as they avoided losing a third consecutive home game in the competition. Had it happened, it would have been the first time they had endured that fate in their history.

Super Sergio

Sergio Oliveira, despite picking up a first-half caution, dominated midfield proceedings for Conceicao's side.

The Portugal midfielder made a game-leading five key passes – joint-level with Otavio – while no player gained possession more times than Oliveira (11).

Taremi's torrid outing

Taremi had scored half of Porto's goals in the competition in 2021 before the contest (three out of six goals). However, the Iranian striker endured a torrid outing as he failed to find the target with any of his game-high six attempts.

Key Opta facts

- Porto have won eight of their last 10 home group stage matches in the Champions League (D1 L1).
- Milan have lost their first three matches in a European campaign for the first time, while they are only the fourth Italian team to lose their first three matches in a Champions League season, along with Lazio in 2001-02, Roma in 2004-05 and Atalanta in 2019-20.
- Luis Díaz ended a run of nine Champions League games without a goal for Porto, netting for the first time since last November against Marseille.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the first outfield player aged 40 or more to appear in the Champions League since Ryan Giggs for Manchester United in April 2014. He was only the second 40-year-old to appear for AC Milan in the competition, after Alessandro Costacurta. Ibrahimovic turned 40 on October 3.
- Porto had 20 shots in this match, their most in a Champions League game since they had 31 against Roma in March 2019.
- Milan became only the fifth team to lose their first three Champions League matches in a season all by a one-goal margin.

What's next?

Porto return to domestic action away at Tondela on Saturday, while Milan visit Bologna on the same day. Porto and Milan meet again in their next group game, at San Siro on November 3.