SOCCER/Group H/Porto - 2 Chelsea - 1: For Porto it was a classic case of hubris and nemesis. Viewed as a villain for his abrupt departure from Porto on the Champions League podium last season, Porto will see this as Jose Mourinho's just demise.
With five minutes to go, Cesar Peixoto became the deus ex machina, having come off the bench to send in the killer ball from the left that Benni McCarthy dispatched clinically to keep the champions in the competition.
Events off the pitch had made Mourinho's return to the Dragao a fascinating soap opera. Porto's president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa - who missed last night's match after spending all of yesterday in a court of law giving evidence amid allegations of corruption in Portuguese football - had intimated a belief that Chelsea were themselves involved in match-fixing.
There had also been claims that Porto fans would exact revenge on the former manager. UEFA had permitted Mourinho to withdraw from media duties to counter security concerns. However the fears appeared mercifully unfounded as Mourinho was given a polite round of applause on his pre-match excursion to the dug-out.
Porto knew their defence of the European Cup would end with anything less than a win here. Porto's coach Victor Fernandez set about his task by making seven changes from the side that lost 1-0 at home to Beira-Mar last Friday.
Mourinho's tactical preference for a 4-3-3 formation, with a spearhead striker and a single holding midfielder, took Europe by storm in his successive UEFA Cup and Champions League triumphs with Porto over the past two years. Yet this was not dogma, and Mourinho has often tweaked his tactics; last night his innovative selection was designed to retain his players' freshness before Sunday's crucial Premiership fixture against Arsenal.
Nonetheless, this was not a weak Chelsea side and Porto had little answer for the elusive skills of Damien Duff, playing unusually as a support striker in front of a midfield diamond. Immediately he tormented the right-back Areias, with a right-wing run that might have provided either Frank Lampard, who failed to connect, or Wayne Bridge, who sent his shot wide, with a goal.
Lampard then provided Didier Drogba with a pin-point cross from the byline that the Ivory Coast international headed against the bar via a save by Nuno. Then Duff embarked on the weaving solo run that beat three defenders before unleashing his shot. This time Nuno's hand was weak and Chelsea had a lead they richly deserved as the ball zipped into the top corner.
So impressive was Duff's contribution that he was replaced by Arjen Robben, his rare equal in terms of skill, shortly into the second half. The move was as much to protect the Irishman from the frequent kicking he received in the opposition half.
Porto determinedly took the game to Chelsea. Giourkas Seitaridis advanced from right-back and unleashed a shot that was bound for goal, until John Terry bravely blocked. However the rebound fell to Diego, hitherto a peripheral figure, and the Brazilian - who had almost signed for Tottenham last January - sent a stunning volley past Petr Cech. The Czech goalkeeper had to done well with a fine diving stop from Benni McCarthy shortly afterwards, but with five minutes remaining it was McCarthy who popped up to save the holders.
In the end, Porto's shame was the racist abuse of Drogba and William Gallas from the stands.
FC PORTO: Nuno, Jorge Costa, Pedro Emanuel, Costinha, Luis Fabiano (Postiga 75), Derlei (Quaresma 59), Areias, Diego (Cesar Peixoto 77), Maniche, Seitaridis, McCarthy. Subs Not Used: Rui Sacramento, Ricardo Costa, Pepe, Bosingwa. Booked: Diego. Goals: Diego 60, McCarthy 85.
CHELSEA: Cech, Gallas, Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Smertin (Tiago 65), Lampard, Parker, Bridge, Duff (Robben 54), Drogba (Kezman 77). Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Makelele, Geremi, Gudjohnsen. Booked: Smertin, Tiago. Goals: Duff 33.
Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).
