Romelu Lukaku scored the only goal of the game to help Inter Milan produce one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the Champions League. After the visitors’ midfielder Otavio was sent off for a second bookable offense, the Belgian international scored with four minutes remaining to secure victory at San Siro. Inter striker Lautaro Martinez could have done better with an early header in a tight first half, and Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa had to push over Hakan Calhanoglu’s bold attempt from an unlikely angle. The visitors, on the other hand, grew into the game and threatened when Marko Grujic forced a 37th-minute stop from goalkeeper Andre Onana before Galeno headed the rebound wide, leaving the sides tied at halftime.
Nicolo Barella nearly scored for the host side after racing onto Milan Skriniar’s raking 52nd-minute pass, but Onana had to save from Mehdi Taremi twice and Zaidu as the Portuguese side replied. With 21 minutes remaining, Barella almost missed the target again, before Otavio was issued a second yellow 12 minutes from time. Substitute Lukaku finally broke through, giving Inter a slender lead to defend in Portugal.
Inter Milan return to Serie A action on Sunday as they travel to Bologna; kickoff is at 11.30 a.m. The Italians will then host Lecce on Sunday, March 5 at 5 p.m. Porto returns to Primeira Liga action on Sunday, hosting Gil Vicente at 8.30 p.m. The Portuguese team will subsequently fly to Chaves on Sunday, March 5; the kick-off time has yet to be determined.
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