Can returning Porto danger men Taremi and Oliveira down Chelsea?
The return of Iranian poacher Mehdi Taremi and prolific midfielder Sergio Oliveira will give Porto more menace in attack as they eye an unlikely spot in the Champions League semi-finals… but can they do enough to stop Chelsea sailing through tonight?
- Porto must overturn a two-goal deficit against Chelsea in Tuesday’s second leg
- They were second best in last week’s first match of Champions League clash
- Goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell give Chelsea a comfortable lead
- But Porto are preparing to welcome back danger men Taremi and Oliveira
- Iranian striker Taremi scored against Juventus in last round but was then sent off
- Oliveira is a midfielder with an excellent goal record but is an injury doubt
We know one thing for certain: Porto are really going to have to go for it.
With a two-goal deficit to make up against Chelsea in Tuesday night’s second leg, the Portuguese champions have little to lose from all-out attack with a Champions League semi-final place at stake.
Luckily for them, their two leading goalscorers, Mehdi Taremi and Sergio Oliveira, are set to return to their team having missed last week’s 2-0 loss through suspension.
Porto are preparing to welcome back danger men Sergio Oliveira (left) and Mehdi Taremi (right) as they meet Chelsea again in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals
Chelsea were dominant in the first leg, winning 2-0 thanks to Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell
The return of a duo who have scored 35 goals between them this season and set up a further 20 could well prove the basis for an astonishing turnaround.
Without doubt Porto will carry more menace going forward as they look to unsettle a Chelsea back line that has looked, on the whole, far more resolute since Thomas Tuchel took over.
They enjoyed some spells of superiority in last week’s first leg but ultimately Chelsea gained the two ‘away’ goals they craved in Seville thanks to Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell.
As they reconvene at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, the onus is very much on Porto to seize the initiative by taking a few risks and yet at the same time not allow any space for Chelsea to exploit and score a tie-killing goal.
We profile Porto’s two returning players who should offer them more of a cutting edge.
Mehdi Taremi
Porto’s Iranian striker is a real goal poacher without the need to simply present him with the ball – just as Juventus did 63 seconds into their last-16 tie.
Rodrigo Bentancur’s atrocious back pass fell short of keeper Wojciech Szczesny and allowed the opportunistic Taremi to slide in and score a goal from which the Italians never really recovered.
That was certainly one of the simplest of the 16 he has scored across all competitions in what is his debut season with Porto and only his second in European football.
Iranian striker Taremi scored Porto’s opening goal against Juventus in the last-16, first leg
Taremi capitalised on a dreadful backpass to open the scoring just 63 seconds into the game
Watching brief
CHELSEA vs PORTO (agg 2-0)
Champions League quarter-final, second leg; Tuesday 8pm UK time
Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville
Live on BT Sport 2/Ultimate
CHELSEA (probable, 3-4-3): Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mount, Werner, Havertz.
PORTO (probable, 4-4-2): Marchesin; Manafa, Mbemba, Pepe, Sanusi; Corona, Uribe, Oliveira, Otavio; Taremi, Marega.
He did blot his copybook in the second leg, however, by booting the ball away and picking up a second yellow card, which ruled him out of last week’s game with Chelsea.
The 28-year-old’s route to the last eight of Europe’s elite competition is certainly one less travelled.
Most of his career was spent in his native Iran, firstly for hometown club Shahin Bushehr, then, after completing his military service, for Iranjavan and then one of the country’s main clubs Persepolis.
He was twice leading goalscorer in the Persian Gulf Pro League and three times voted striker of the year, helping Persepolis win the title in 2017.
From there it was on to Al-Gharafa in Qatar before finally coming to the attention of European clubs when he signed for Rio Ave in Portugal in 2019.
It was the then-Iran coach Carlos Queiroz that helped convince Taremi his Portuguese homeland would be the ideal place to continue his career.
Taremi has scored 22 goals in 47 international appearances for Iran and at the 2018 World Cup had Portugal’s place in the knockout stages at his mercy but missed from close range in the fourth minute of injury time in a 1-1 draw.
A return of 21 goals in his first – and only – season with Rio Ave – making him joint-top scorer in the Primeira Liga – proved he could cut it in Europe and Porto signed him to a four-year deal last summer.
Taremi was sent off during the second leg with Juventus last month for kicking the ball away
Having served his suspension, the striker (right) is available again for the second leg
The step-up to the Champions League class has been effortless with Taremi proving himself adept at sitting on the shoulder of defenders and making perfectly-timed movements to find the net.
He has formed a good understanding with Moussa Marega, who also scored in the first leg win over Juventus, and they’re likely to be the forward pair tasked with troubling Chelsea on Tuesday.
They’ll hope it’s the Chelsea defence that shipped five against West Bromwich Albion the other week rather than the impressively watertight one of the rest of Tuchel’s tenure.
It’s been an excellent season for Taremi, who has netted 16 times across all competitions
The forward is a regular for his country Iran and has scored 22 goals in 47 international games
Sergio Oliveira
Porto manager Sergio Conceicao was non-committal when asked about whether Sergio Oliveira will start the game with Chelsea.
The Portuguese midfielder is back from suspension but is carrying a small muscle injury that raised doubts over whether he’ll last the full 90 minutes.
Conceicao said he didn’t want to gamble on the long-term fitness of his leading scorer given they have eight crucial league games left to try and overhaul the six-point lead of Sporting Lisbon and retain their title.
But sure Oliveira will feature at some point, especially if Chelsea are still leading on aggregate in the second-half.
Midfielder Sergio Oliveira was the scourge of Juventus in the last-16, scoring twice in Turin
His early penalty at the Allianz Stadium extended Porto’s aggregate advantage to 3-1
After all, it was Oliveira who worked miracles in the second leg against Juventus, scoring twice, including the free-kick that Cristiano Ronaldo famously turned out the way of.
He’d early converted a penalty to extend Porto’s aggregate lead to 3-1 before Juventus roared back, helped by Taremi’s sending off on 54 minutes.
‘It was a match played in the usual FC Porto style,’ Oliveira told UEFA.com this week. ‘We went in strong and we fought for it, and it was an epic moment.
‘Given the circumstances and this pandemic, I think it was a message of hope to everyone to never give up and that anything is possible.’
Cristiano Ronaldo was blamed for his role in Oliveira’s decisive free-kick goal in the last round
Ronaldo turned his back in the wall as Oliveira scored a low free-kick in extra time
A similar miracle is needed against Chelsea but Oliveira is remarkably prolific for a midfielder and is enjoying the best season of his career.
It’s been touch and go whether he would make it at Porto, his boyhood club. His early years as a professional were spent mainly on loan before an unconvincing time with the B team ultimately saw him moved on to Pacos Ferreira.
But after two seasons, he returned to the Dragao and, at the age of 28, has become a regular in recent months.
Chelsea will need to be wary of him in a way Juventus clearly weren’t. Not only his prowess over the dead ball but his ability to drift into scoring positions.
It remains to be seen whether Oliveira (left, with Pepe in training) starts in the second leg as he struggles with a minor muscle problem
So can Porto pull it off?
Their improbable win over Juventus with 10 men in the last round means Porto certainly won’t feel they’re dead and buried in this one.
They have little to lose from putting pressure on Chelsea from the outset and searching for the early goal that alters the whole complexion of the tie.
Boosted by the return of their two danger men – even if Oliveira starts on the bench – they should be more threatening in attack than they were last week.
But it’s a tall order. Firstly, they’ll have to be compact and disciplined enough to stop Chelsea scoring.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was pleased with his team’s performance in the first leg
Tuchel’s side come into the game following a masterclass in attacking play against Crystal Palace at the weekend, the first time they’ve scored more than two goals during his time in charge.
The forward three at Selhurst Park of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic clicked really well.
The second factor is breaking down the solid Chelsea defence. With the exception of the West Brom defeat, in which they played with 10 men for over an hour, they’ve been incredibly frugal under Tuchel.
But if there’s one thing we have learned from recent editions of the Champions League, it’s that nothing can be ruled out in these absorbing knockout ties.
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