Strong performance in Porto not rewarded

It was not meant to be against "the biggest opponent on our journey together so far", as head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo had described FC Porto prior to kick-off. TSG Hoffenheim were the better team in the first 45 minutes and registered more shots but did not get the reward in the form of the opening goal. Instead, the inevitable happened: Porto scored in stoppage time through Djalo following a free-kick (45+2) and thus paved the way for a home victory before the interval.

TSG tried in vain in the second half and created significantly fewer chances. Instead, Porto stayed ice-cool and scored through Samu following a counter (75). The result was a 2-0 defeat and the feeling that an opportunity had been missed to take points against one of the best teams in the competition.

Jacob Bruun Larsen's chance in the 24th minute particularly remains in the memory. After an outstanding ball from Tom Bischof, the Dane used his speed and got in behind the FC Porto defence. Bruun Larsen bore down on Diogo Costa in goal and tried to lob the ball but the striker's attempt sailed narrowly wide of the back post. The refereeing team might have raised their flag for an offside, but the TV pictures showed that Bruun Larsen probably was not standing in an offside position. If he had scored, the goal would therefore probably have stood following a video review.

Despite their defeat, TSG's record after three matches in European competition is impressive. Four points from three games currently means 18th position in the league phase of the Europa League, which would be enough for play-off qualification after eight rounds of games. There is not much time to think about the defeat. Coach Pellegrino Matarazzo's team will already be in action again on Sunday away to 1. FC Heidenheim (19:30 CEST / Live Ticker at tsg-hoffenheim.de). Then the attentions will turn back to picking up Bundesliga points.

"I told them to keep their heads up. The performance was good. We'll immediately turn our attentions to Heidenheim. It's a very important match. We have only two days to regenerate and prepare ourselves," said the head coach after the game, as he already turned the focus back to the Bundesliga.

Match facts and statistics »