Against Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday, Portuguese full back João Cancelo certainly had a night to remember. Thanks to his goal and his assist against his countrymen, Barça were able to claim a vital 2-1 victory which gives them a place in the last 16 of the competition for the first time under coach Xavi Hernández. It came as no surprise when Cancelo was also named official player of the match by UEFA for his performance.
First goal in the Champions for Barça
The strike against Barça’s Portuguese group H rivals was the first in the competition as a blaugrana for Cancelo and his fifth in 54 appearances in the Champions League, adding to the three he scored at Manchester City and his debut goal when he was a Valencia player.
Named player of the match by the UEFA Technical Observer Panel, the full back now has three such accolades after starring previously on two occasions for Manchester City. No other defender can boast of being named best player on so many occasions.
First time scoring and providing as assist in the Champions League
Cancelo not only scored the equaliser for Barça after Pepê had given Porto the lead in the encounter, the full back also provided the final pass for João Félix’s winner. It was the first that the defender had scored and assisted in the competition this season after having achieved the feat earlier in the league with Barça against Celta Vigo and for Bayern Munich.
Three goals for Barça
The goal on Tuesday was Cancelo’s third for Barça this season and only João Félix with four goals, Ferran with five and Lewandowski with eight have scored more.
Important player in many ways
Cancelo’s statistics against Porto show what a vital player he is all over the pitch. Successful with six of eight dribbles, he also completed 27 of 30 passes, a success rate of 90%. Of those 27, five passes were classed as key, causing danger to the opposition.
Finally, the full back was the player who won the ball back in the tackle on most occasions with three in the 90 minutes of the match.
