FC Porto went into the tie on a long unbeaten run in all competitions that stretches back to October although they have dropped four points in their last two Primeira Liga games. Roma looked lively with the partnership of Stefan El Shaarawy and Aleksander Kolarov causing the visitors problems. FC Porto took a while to get going, with the first chance arriving after half-an-hour when Francisco Soares forced Antonio Mirante into a save with a close-range effort.


The home side took the lead at seventy minutes as Nicolo Zaniolo collected a pass from Dzeko before burying the ball into the far corner. Roma doubled their advantage six minutes later with Zaniolo completing his brace with a long-range effort that sailed in off the post.


Moments later, Porto gave themselves a lifeline when substitute Adrian Lopez pounced on Soares’ cross-cum-shot to slot past Mirante for the all-important away goal. The second leg in Porto is on Wednesday 6th March.