FC Porto 1–1 AS Roma Player Ratings: Both the Teams Share Their Spoils in the First Leg of the Europa League Playoff

FC Porto ended its game with AS Roma as a 1-1 stalemate in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 playoff at the Estadio Do Dragao in Portugal on Thursday. Roma’s defender Mehmet Zeki Celik opened the scoring for the Italian side and then Francisco Moura equalised in the second half.

Roma started the first half by attempting to maintain possession and nullify their opponent, who has been under pressure to improve. FC Porto looked to have regained a bit of ground around the seventh minute after defender Tiago Djalo seized on a loose pass with promise but eventually gave it away towards opposition goalkeeper Mike Svilar. Porto escaped fright in the first quarter of the match as Roma takes possession of the hosts’ box after Mario is unable to clear the ball well. After that, Costa dashes off his line to stop Pellegrini’s effort. Diogo Costa came to the rescue around the 19th mintue after Paulo Dybala’s shot which was a result of a good holding off Otavio by Dovbyk.

Around thirty minutes in, Roma captain Pellegrini sends Angelino a low cross that misses the mark. On his first try, he put it beyond the right-hand post, and the home crowd lets out a sigh. During the stoppage time of the first half, Roma opened the scoring through Mehmet Zeki Celik after he fired into the left side of the net, when Dovbyk’s cross found him. In the half-time, Roma fans look a bit satisfied but they would expect a more improved performance in the second half. Both the teams have had their chances but were not able to capitalise until Celik scored the opener.

At the beginning of the second half, two substitutions took place to keep the side a active. Svilar pulled an impressive save denying Moura from the close range at the start of the second half. Around the 67th minute, Porto scored the equaliser after a counter-attack was pulled of Francisco making the scoreline 1-1. Just after the equaliser Roma was reduced to 10 men afetr midfielder Cristante picked up a second yellow card for tugging back Eustaquio. Substitute Namaso made an impact winning a corner and Borges carved an opportunity out of it but blazed it over the crossbar.

The both teams will face each other on February 20 to decide which team qualifies for the next round of the UEFA Europa League. On that note, lets have a look at FC Porto vs AS Roma player ratings.

FC Porto Player Ratings

GK- Diogo Costa- 6.2/10- The goalkeeper had a fair game making three saves in the game. He conceded a goal and his distribution was decent throughout the 90 minutes.

CB- Tiago Djalo- 6.7/10- The defender capped a strong defensive performance with a 93 percent passing accuracy. He was involved in six defensive actions and made three recoveries for FC Porto.

CB- Neuhuen Perez- 7.3/10- The Argentine centre-back capped a good defensive performance against AS Roma maintaining a good passing accuracy. He completed the most number of passes in the game.

CB- Otavio- 7.3/10- The 22-year-old Brazilian centre-back had a decent game with a passing accuracy of 78 percent. During his time on the pitch, he was involved in eight defensive actions and won four duels for FC Porto.

RM- Joao Mario- 6.4/10- The Portuguese midfielder maintained a passing accuracy of 81 percent and made three passes into the final third. He was involved in five defensive actions and made three clearances.

CM- Stephen Eustaquio- 6.8/10- The Canadian midfielder had a good game with a good passing percentage. He won six duels in the game made nine passes into the final third.

CM- Alan Varela- 7.3/10- The midfielder had a decent game as he was taken off around the 63rd minute. He was quite significant in the midfield maintaining a passing accuracy of 93 percent.

LM- Francisco Moura- 7.8/10- The Portuguese midfielder was the player of the match and had a decent game taking three shots on goal. He maintained a passing accuracy of 85 percent and scored the equaliser for FC Porto.

AM- Goncalo Borges- 7.6/10- The attacking midfielder completed the most number of dribble in the game and also had won the most number of duels. He took four shots on the goal and created couple of chances in attack against AS Roma.

AM- Rodrigo Mora- 6.5/10- It was one of his errors which led to a goal for AS Roma. He created three good chances for FC Porto but nothing major happened.

ST- Samuel Aghehowa- 6.2/10- The Spanish number nine had an average game with mediocre passing. He did not record a single shot on goal despite having five touches in the opposition box.

Sub- Pepe– 6.8/10- He came on to replace Rodrigo Mora around the 63rd minute.

Sub- Fabio Viera- 6.7/10- Porto made the first chance by replacing Alan Varela.

Sub- Danny Namaso Loader- 6.5/10- He was brought on to replace Otavio in the defence around the 75th minute.

Sub- Zaidu Sanusi- N/A.

Sub- Deniz Gul- N/A.

Manager- Martin Anselmi- 6/10- The manager would be happy with the way his team fared in a 3-4-3 formation. His team did not find the footing in the beginning but slowly grew into the game.

AS Roma Player Ratings

GK- Mile Svilar- 6.1/10- The Serbian goalkeeper did not have a very busy game as he had made only one save and conceded a goal.

CB- Zeki Celik- 7.7/10- He capped a strong defensive performance being involved in more than 10 defensive actions. Celik opened the scoring for AS Roma after he met the cross from forward Dovbyk. He made four clearances for AS Roma and recovered four balls.

CB- Gianluca Mancini- 7.0/10- The Italian centre-back had a good defensive performance and took couple of shots on the goal. He was involved in 10 defensive actions and made six clearances against FC Porto.

CB- Evan Ndicka- 6.7/10- The defender maintained a passing accuracy of 92 percent. He was involved in 10 defensive actions and made seven clearances for his team.

RM- Alexis Saelemaekers- 6.5/10- The Belgian midfielder had a fair game maintaining a passing accuracy of 94 percent. He was involved in just couple of defensive actions and controlled the midfield well.

CM- Manu Kone- 6.1/10- The French midfielder had an average game with a passing accuracy of 93 percent. He lost eight duels against FC Porto and was dispossessed thrice at crucial junctures of the game.

CM- Bryan Cristante- 5.7/10- The midfielder had an ordinary game in the midfield as he was sent off around the 72nd mintue of the game after receiving a second yellow card.

CM- Lorenzo Pellegrini- 6.8/10- The Attacking midfielder had a decent game taking three shots on goal for AS Roma. He created couple of attacking opportunities and won three duels.

LM- Angelino- 6.9/10- The midfielder had a fair game maintaining a passing accuracy of 78 percent. He created couple of chances in attack and was involved in five defensive actions.

ST- Paulo Dybala- 6.3/10- The Argentine forward had to be taken off around the end of the first half after an injury scare. He had an ordinary game with a passing percentage of 92. He won couple of duels in the game and took a shot.

ST- Artem Dovbyk- 7.3/10- The Ukrainian forward was always a threat for the Portuguese side as he continued his dangerous runs into the opposition penalty area. He gave an assist to the first goal of AS Roma.

Sub- Tommaso Baldanzi- 6.3/10- He was brought on to replace Paulo Dybala around the 40th minute of the game.

Sub- Stephan El Shaarawy- 6.8/10- He came on to replace Alexis Saelemaekers just after the first half.

Sub- Nicolo Pisilli- 6.3/10- He was subbed on in place of Kouadio Kone.

Sub- Matia Soule- 6.6/10- He replaced Lorenzo Pellegrini around the 68th minute.

Sub- Leandro Paredes- 5.9/10- The former PSG midfielder was brought on to replace Artem Dovbyk.

Manager- Claudio Raneiri- 6.5/10- His team had a good game but he would regret on his team’s inability to score on various occasions. He played with a back three and the wing-backs put on a great workload to attack as well as defend.