Francesco Farioli’s FC Porto were held to a 1-1 draw by Nottingham Forest on Thursday evening. Playing at home, the Portuguese side dominated early proceedings but could not find a winner. The return leg is set for next Thursday in England.
The hosts should have opened the scoring inside the first minute when Terem Moffi was left unmarked on the edge of the box, but his effort flew wide, allowing Stefan Ortega to clear the danger.
Moments later, though, the hosts did open the scoring. Pablo Rosario flicked a clever backheel to release Gabri Viega, whose cross was tapped in at the far post by William Gomes.
The advantage lasted barely two minutes. Right-back Martim Fernandes, trying to head the ball back to his goalkeeper from 40 metres, misjudged the weight of his header and inadvertently beat his own keeper, levelling the scores at 1-1.
Worse still, Fernandes picked up an injury five minutes later and was replaced by Alberto Costa.
After the break both sides created openings. Nottingham thought they had gone ahead through Igor Jesus, only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul on Diogo Costa.
After the disallowed goal, Porto pressed for a winner. Gomes forced another save from Ortega, and Viktor Froholdt fired just wide from inside the box, but the hosts could not find the decisive strike.