BERLIN - Mehdi Taremi’s second-half brace paved the way for Porto’s 3-0 away victory over Bayer Leverkusen in UEFA Champions League Group B.
The visitors from Portugal made a fairy-tale start on the road and stunned Leverkusen with the opener in the sixth minute as Galeno finished off a solo run from 10 meters into the bottom corner.
Leverkusen responded well and had a golden chance to restore parity in the 16th minute, but Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved Kerem Demirbay’s penalty.
Costa was also on guard at the half-hour mark when he neutralized a close-range attempt from Mitchel Bakker.
The Werkself remained on the front foot but were unlucky moments later when Patrik Schick’s goal was disallowed due to a handball.
After the restart, Xabi Alonso’s men started where they left off as Amine Adli unleashed a dangerous shot on target in the 49th minute.
Adli remained in the thick of things as he felled Galeno inside the box to concede a penalty. Taremi stepped up and kept his nerves after beating Lukas Hradecky with a chip into the center of the goal in the 53rd minute.
Things went from bad to worse at the hour mark as the referee pointed to the penalty spot again after Odilon Kossounou fouled Galeno inside the area. Taremi showed no mercy and wrapped up his brace off the left-hand post.
Leverkusen pressed for a consolation, but Schick missed the target from 11 meters before Costa was equal to Moussa Diaby’s hammer in the closing stages.
“The defeat hurts. We made mistakes but the result doesn’t reflect our performance. We are really disappointed of course. Porto played very smartly. They took an early lead and defended well. We had our chance that is also why the defeat is a real pity,” said Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah.
“We controlled the game and made the most of our opportunities,” said Porto striker Taremi.