After being drawn in the third round of Champions League qualifying against Russian minnows Krasnodar, Portuguese giants and 2004 winners FC Porto were branded as clear favorites going into this matchup.
While Porto was on its way to progression after winning the first leg 1-0 away in Krasnodar, the Russian underdogs silenced the crowd at the Estádio do Dragão on Tuesday night with an unexpected 3-2 victory. Despite being all square on aggregate, Krasnodar will proceed to the next round as a result of the away goals rule.
The Russian outfit got off to a flying start, with Tonny Vilhena opening the scoring after just three minutes. A brace from right-wing Magomed Suleymanov extended his side’s lead to three goals after just 34 minutes of play.
While the Portuguese favorites managed to claw their way back with two second-half goals by Luis Diaz and Ze Luis, their efforts ultimately went unrewarded, as a dominant second-half performance and attempted comeback came too little too late for Porto.
With the fourth round of qualifying commencing on 20 August, Krasnodar is set to face Olympiacos, runners up in the 2018/19 edition of the Greek Super League. While set to be labeled as underdogs yet again, their Greek opponents will do well not to underestimate the side hailing from Southern Russia.
