Champions League Power Rankings: PSG shine in matchweek 1
By James Dudko
28. Porto
While Sporting were winning away, their domestic rivals Porto were made to suffer in their opening match. Besiktas went to the Estadio do Dragao and bossed a game not as close as a 3-1 scoreline might suggest.
Like Olympiakos, Porto should be expected to do better given their European pedigree. Unfortunately, the 2004 winners looked bereft of ideas in midfield and lacked composure in the final third.
It didn’t help when winger Yacine Brahimi failed to exert his influence. Instead, the mercurial wide man remained on the fringes of the game.
Worse still, Porto were left to rue several moments of erratic finishing. Every miss made the decision to sell striker Andre Silva to AC Milan this summer look more costly.
Porto have long been able to sell their best talents and regenerate without skipping a beat. Yet their performance in Week 1 indicated they may have lost too much quality in key areas this time.