Barcelona were staring down the barrel of a second successive defeat in the Champions League. Having lost last time out against Shakhtar Donetsk, they fell behind to Porto in Montjuic, although they have now managed to find a quick-fire equaliser.
Xavi Hernandez recalled the likes of Ronald Araujo, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Felix to the starting line-up, although the changes did not have the desired effect for Barcelona, whose disappointing opening half hour was capped off by Pepe, not the former Real Madrid defender, scoring the opener for Porto.
João Cancelo, that's lovely! 🎯
Picking his corner to perfection 👌#UCL pic.twitter.com/DxDTARsyxK
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 28, 2023
Porto's Pepê (not that one) lashed that into the bottom corner. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/d191mIp15A
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 28, 2023
PEPE SCORES Vs BARCELONA TO GIVE PORTO THE LEAD!pic.twitter.com/89Yd2d4n48
— Tamoghna (@ReyesDeUniverso) November 28, 2023
Less than two minutes later, Barcelona were level, courtesy of a stunning strike from Joao Cancelo, who cut in from the left to fire across Diogo Costa into the far corner.
30' Barcelona 0-1 Porto
32' Barcelona 1-1 PortoBarca replied quickly. 😳 pic.twitter.com/CrtNNEtCqr
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 28, 2023
A beautiful goal from Cancelo. 💫pic.twitter.com/UobFIQzyM4
— Barça Xtra (@XtraBarcaa) November 28, 2023
Barcelona desperately needed Cancelo’s equaliser. They were already coming into this match under intense pressure, and the last thing they needed was to be behind for a sustained period of time.
