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Juventus tower above Porto

Football Champions League : Pjaca, Alves strike in 2-0 victory in first leg; Sevilla edge past Leicester City
Last Updated 23 February 2017, 19:08 IST

 Juventus edged closer to the Champions League quarterfinals after second-half goals from substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves earned them a 2-0 away win at 10-man Porto in a one-sided last 16 first-leg tie on Wednesday.

Porto's downfall was partly self-inflicted after left back Alex Telles received a red card in the 27th minute following two senseless bookings in the space of 90 seconds, leaving the home side to play over an hour against the Serie A leaders with 10 men.

Despite holding Juventus at bay for 72 minutes, Porto's resolve was broken when Miguel Layun deflected Paulo Dybala's pass into the path of Pjaca who slammed a first-time effort past Iker Casillas.

Dani Alves made sure of victory two minutes later when he controlled Alex Sandro's cross with his chest before finishing calmly as Juventus, who are still in the Italian Cup, boosted their hopes of a maiden treble ahead of the second leg in Turin on March 14.

Juventus were expected to face a stern test in Portugal, but while they imposed themselves from the early stages and controlled the first half, Porto were content to remain deep and absorb pressure.

The visitors struggled to forge the clear openings that their dominance deserved, although the lively Dybala fashioned the best chance of the first half with a thumping effort from outside the box which grazed the post.

Telles's minute and a half of madness quashed any lingering Porto ambition and prompted coach Nuno Espirito Santo to withdraw striker Andre Silva -- scorer of four Champions League goals this season -- in response.

Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri left out Leonardo Bonucci from the squad, after the pair's dispute during Friday's victory over Palermo, and while Juventus were untested at the back, they missed the centre back's creativity and probing long balls.

The breakthrough eventually came from the bench, as Allegri introduced Pjaca and Dani Alves to offer dynamism and directness and the pair repaid their manager with goals to end Porto's 20-game undefeated home streak.

Vardy strikes

In Seville, Jamie Vardy scored his first goal in the competiton to give Leicester City some hope of staying in Europe's elite competition despite a 1-2 loss to an utterly dominant Sevilla.

Pablo Sarabia headed the hosts into a deserved lead in the 25th minute after Kasper Schmeichel had saved Joaquin Correa's penalty. Argentine forward Correa made amends by netting in the 62nd after inspired play from Stevan Jovetic. Leicester were outplayed by the home side, who had 80% of possession in the first half, and it took a number of brilliant saves from Schmeichel to keep them in the game, while Sevilla's Vitolo hit the inside of the post.

Vardy made the most of a rare attacking opportunity for the struggling English champions by blasting in a cross from Danny Drinkwater from close range in the 73rd minute and Claudio Ranieri's side were fortunate not to concede late on when Adil Rami's header smashed against the crossbar.

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(Published 23 February 2017, 19:08 IST)

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