Porto ready to knock out another European powerhouse

<p>MADRID &mdash; Having already knocked out one European powerhouse, Porto isn’t feeling too overwhelmed about going up against Chelsea in the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Wednesday.</p>
<p>After eliminating Juventus in the last 16, Porto hosts the first leg against Chelsea in a match that will be played in Seville, Spain, because of travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. The second leg will also be played at Sevilla’s Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium.</p>
<p>“They are different teams but they are both used to playing at the highest level and both have great players,” Porto coach Sérgio Conceição said on Tuesday. “We don’t have a budget similar to them, but we are a historic club and we are ready. We have spirit and quality. What we did against Juventus showed that we have great quality.”</p>
<p>Porto advanced past Juventus on away goals after winning the first leg at home 2-1 and losing the return match 3-2 in extra time in Italy.</p>
<p>Porto captain Pepe said the games against Juventus helped raise the standards for Porto. </p>
<p>“It gives us more responsibility,” Pepe said. “We played 60 minutes with a man down against Juventus. We played very compact. We knew what the coach had asked us to do. The game against Chelsea will be a different story but we will be prepared.”</p>
<p>Earlier, Pepe said he and his teammates heard the claims about Chelsea players celebrating after drawing Porto for the quarterfinals.</p>
<p>Publicly, though, Chelsea’s players aren’t taking their opponents lightly.</p>
<p>“It’s a difficult draw,” Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic said on Tuesday. “Porto is a good team, we saw that against Juventus. They knocked out a big opponent and showed togetherness and great spirit.”</p>
<p>Sérgio Oliveira, who scored twice for Porto against Juventus, including the extra-time goal that sealed Porto’s spot in the last eight, will not play Wednesday because of a yellow card suspension. </p>
<p>Mehdi Taremi, who was sent off with a red card early in the second half in Turin, also will be absent.</p>
<p>“It is not easy to deal with Sérgio Oliveira’s absence, but I am here to find solutions,” Conceição said.</p>
<p>Porto is trying to make it to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since winning the European trophy in 2004. It also was a quarterfinalist in 2019, losing to eventual champion Liverpool.</p>
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