Porto 5-2 Monaco (2017)

Porto 5-2 Monaco
UEFA Champions League
Wednesday 6th December 2017

It's impossible for me to look back on this game, one of the best I've experienced in the Champions League, without the tune 'This Girl' by The Kungs coming to mind straight away.

It was Porto's goal celebration music at the time, it got played five times and being amongst the small contingent of away fans in the magnificent Estadio Dragao watching their side get absolutely hammered, it was hard not to join in with the fun, accept defeat graciously, and dance along to it in gallows-humour style after every goal.

After all, the result was a foregone conclusion by half-time and it's a very, very catchy tune!

Porto were 3-0 up by the break, cruising, in total command and heading for the knockout stages. The Monaco supporters sat around me knew that a comeback just wasn't going to materialise, the atmosphere elsewhere in the stadium seemed terrific, and it became an occasion to properly appreciate.

Although I'd earmarked this game as one to attend months in advance - tying it in with Benfica versus Basel at Estadio Da Luz the previous night, it wasn't initially my intention to sit with the away fans and that only came about by Porto's decision to put tickets on sale about a week beforehand whereas Monaco were selling them several weeks in advance. The decision, somewhat bizarre considering it was a 'must win' game for the hosts, backfired as lengthy queues were visible outside the ticket long after kick-off.

So I knew I'd made the right decision as I soaked up the fabulous views from behind the protective mesh netting of the away supporters section, which was sparsely populated - an even better result as it allowed for the chance to move around a bit.

I'd arrived in Porto around midday and spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out around Liberdade Square and the picturesque riverside where you'll find the iconic Dom Luís I Bridge. It's a lovely city with a great culture and, later in the evening, the Estadio Dragao didn't disappoint either - exceeding all expectations as it lit up the skyline for miles around!

As someone who has become accustomed to visiting 'big' stadiums with huge capacities in recent years, the novelty can wear off after you've been to so many. However, there's something about this place which makes it different from loads of others. It's massive, it feels impressive, it seems huge/spectacular and it's a very imposing place - even better is the fact it's located on the outskirts of the city centre, can be seen from many public transport routes into the city, and has a great local infrastructure.

Attendances in Portugal aren't always the best and even though the stadium was far from full, what Porto's fans lacked in numbers they definitely made up for with noise and passion as they roared their team on.

Their heroes on the pitch responded with a classy, ruthless and dominant performance and nobody was better than Vincent Aboubakar, who set the tone when he beat the offside trap and emphatically slammed a powerful shot beyond the 'keeper in only the ninth minute - thus giving the 'This Girl' tune its first blast over the PA system on the night.

The powerful Cameroonian frontman doubled the lead around the half-hour mark as many Monaco fans began to give ominous sighs to one another in realisation this was going to be another tough night. Although they'd been Champions League semi-finalists only months earlier, the 2017/18 tournament had been a sheer struggle; so much so that they were cut adrift at the bottom of the group, without any hope of clinching a consolation Europa League spot, going into it.

If the visitors from the tiny principality on the Mediterranean Coast thought things couldn't have got worse, then they were wrong? Not only were they reduced to 10 men when Rachid Ghezzal was red-carded following an altercation with an opponent which saw both players dismissed, but they went 3-0 down on the stroke of half-time with Yacine Brahimi on target this time.

It wasn't in any doubt by this point that Porto were going to qualify for the Last 16 whilst Monaco were just, erm, as they'd been for much of the season - pretty damn sh*te!

Nevertheless, with another 45 minutes to go, Monaco's fans seemed intent on enjoying themselves on what they knew would be their last European away day of the season.

Kamil Gilk bagged from the penalty spot on the hour mark to reduce arrears to 3-1 before Alex Tellas netted arguably the pick of the goals - rifling home a low, 20-yard drive from the edge of the box which was as instinctive as it was predator; not that any away fans were bothered as it was an excuse to get up and dance (again) to The Kungs.

Radamel Falcao (remember him?) found the target as the visitors made it 4-2 with about 10 minutes to go, but Francisco Soares headed home a fifth goal for the Super Dragoes in the dying stages and, yes, it was another chance for the PA announcer to pump up the volume, hit the 'Goal Music' button and make everyone really, really happy!

Despite being kept behind by the Portuguese Police for about 10-15 minutes after the final whistle for 'safety reasons' - though quite why they got the impression there'd be trouble between these fans was a mystery, queues moved quickly at the Metro Station afterwards and I was back at my accommodation in pretty much no time whatsoever.

Overall, this was the best game of what was a week-long trip to Portugal though the really good music continued as Vitoria Guimaraes' PA announcer played some absolute 'Britpop Bangers' (including Oasis, Stereophonics and The Courteeners) at their game with Konyaspor the following night.