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UEFA Champions League ended with the round of 16 matches, after which it became clear that this year the title of the winner of the most prestigious European tournament was not defended by "Porto", who lost to "Inter" due to the sharing of the Milan clubs stadium in the postponed second leg match.
3 - 1
6' [1 - 0] Leite Adriano
64' [2 - 0] Leite Adriano
69' [2 - 1] Jorge Costa
87' [3 - 1] Leite Adriano
Both teams started the match cautiously, and "Inter" took the lead after the first slightly more dangerous attack, when Adriano received a pass on the edge and after his shot the ball deflected off defender P.Emanuel's leg and passed goalkeeper V.Baia, ending up in the goal, despite J.Costa's attempts to save the situation.
In the second half, satisfied with the result, "Inter" stepped back defensively and "Porto" tried to attack the opponent's goal only with not very dangerous long-range shots. There was a lot of intense fighting in the middle of the field and the score remained unchanged until halftime.
In the second half, "Porto" coach sent in R.Quaresma, and this player was the right choice, as he immediately actively joined the game and his shots threatened F.Toldo's goal.
The visitors started to control the match, but "Inter" successfully counterattacked, and although in the 63rd minute Veron ran past the goalkeeper and passed the ball inaccurately to his teammate, in the following attack after J.Cruz's pass in the penalty area, Adriano sent the ball into the goal doubling Milan's team's lead.
Nevertheless, "Porto" regained hope just six minutes later when after a corner Toldo failed to catch the ball and defender J.Costa softened the score with a close-range shot. The Portuguese understood that they could still snatch a ticket to the quarterfinals and started to attack more, making the game open.
In the 81st minute, the referee did not call offside and J.Zanetti along with O.Martins ran together against V.Baia, and the Argentinian, having dribbled the opponent, made a pass to his teammate, but P.Emanuel rushed back to defense, managing to clear the ball off the goal line at the last moment.
"Porto" hopes faded and "Inter" finally secured the victory in the 85th minute - Adriano, receiving the ball in the penalty area, deceived Maniche and hit the ball into the corner of the goal, marking his third goal and achieving a "hat-trick".
Thanks to Adriano's excellent performance, "Inter" defeated the opponents from Portugal and advanced to the quarterfinals, the draw of which will take place this Friday, March 18th.
