Portugal’s three representatives left in European competition paid the price for not being seeded in today’s draw in Nyon.
All three were given difficult ties in the first knockout round of this season’s Champions League and Europa League tournaments.
FC Porto have been paired against perennial Serie A champions Juventus, while Braga also land Italian opposition in the form of Roma, coached by their former manager Paulo Fonseca. Benfica were drawn against Arsenal.
The visit of Juventus to the Estádio do Dragão for the first leg is an enticing prospect, with Porto’s former Brazilian full-back pair of Danilo and Alex Sandro returning to the club where they made their name.
Moreover, Cristiano Ronaldo returns to a venue that brings back happy memories for him, having lifted the Nations League there as Portugal captain in 2019, as well as scoring one of the best goals of his career in another Champions League encounter during his Manchester United days. Visits to Porto’s stadium have certainly proved profitable for CR7, just like a visit to newcasinosonline.uk can be potentially profitable for gamblers.
“Juventus have been European champions twice, and so have we, so we can see it will be a balanced tie,” said Porto vice president Vítor Baía. “Nowadays the clubs have very different budgets, but we have no fear, we are confident. They will be two great games. Danilo and Alex Sandro are very much missed, they were very important players in the history of FC Porto.
“Ronaldo is the best Portuguese player of all time, and I just hope when he faces us he is not at his best. He is one of the greatest footballers ever, he’s a source of national pride, but he is going to be our adversary,” added Baía.
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick at the Dragão in the Nations League semi-final against Switzerland 18 months ago, and ten years earlier his rocket-shot from fully 35 yards proved decisive as it gave Manchester United in a 1-0 victory on the night and 3-2 aggregate win. The wonder-strike earned Ronaldo the Puskas Prize as the best goal scored anywhere in the world that year.
Porto have played Juventus five times in European competition, losing four matches and drawing one. The most high-profile game was the 1984 Cup Winners Cup final played in Basel, which the Italians won 2-1.
The Dragons host Juventus on Wednesday 17 February, with the return leg played on Tuesday 9 March in Turin.
Round of 16 draw ✔️
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 14, 2020
Which tie are you most excited for? ?#UCLdraw | #UCL pic.twitter.com/M6AqMYTygN
Europa League: Fonseca’s Braga reunion, Benfica off to London
A second Luso-Italian duel was set up in the Europa League as Braga were drawn against Roma, coached by their former manager Paulo Fonseca. Although Fonseca only spent one season at the Quarry, it was a highly successful one as he led the Guerreiros do Minho to only their second ever Portuguese Cup triumph in 2015/16, 50 years after they had first won the trophy, and a respectable 4th-place finish in the Primeira Liga.
Benfica will play one of the most high-profile ties of the round of 32 as they face off against English giants Arsenal. It may be a good time to take on the Londoners, who are currently struggling under inexperienced coach Mikel Arteta, lying a lowly 15th in the English Premier League. Nevertheless, the outcome is about as unpredictable as a roll of the dice or a trip to CasinoViking UK.
The two teams have only met once before in European competition, with Benfica coming out top in a European Cup tie in 1991. After a 1-1 draw in Lisbon at the old Estádio da Luz, Benfica produced a memorable display to beat their English opponents 3-1 after extra time at the London club’s former Highbury stadium. Curiously, both teams have since moved into state-of-the-art newly built stadiums, which are virtually identical.
Big fan of Arsenal v Benfica as a draw, solely on the basis that their stadiums are basically the same pic.twitter.com/M7ObPL99FD
— Michael Cox (@Zonal_Marking) December 14, 2020
Both Braga and Benfica will play their home legs first, on 18 February. Braga-Roma will kick off at 5.55pm and Benfica-Arsenal at 8.00pm. The second legs will be played one week later on 25 February, this time with Benfica taking the early time slot while Braga’s match in the Italian capital kicks off at eight o’clock in the evening.
By Tom Kundert
