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First one through Real Madrid tops Porto 2-1, makes quarterfinalsPosted: Wednesday February 27, 2002 4:51 PMUpdated: Wednesday February 27, 2002 7:37 PM OPORTO, Portugal (Reuters) -- Real Madrid became the first side to secure their place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League with a 2-1 win at Porto on Wednesday. The Portuguese, who were on the attack for virtually the whole game, paid a heavy price for two howling defensive errors early in the first half which sealed their fate. Real coach Vicente del Bosque, who had opted for a makeshift team as passage to the last eight was already virtually guaranteed, admitted that Porto had posed his side some serious problems. Real, chalking up their fourth successive victory in group C, which guaranteed them a place in the last eight with two matches still to play, took the lead through Santiago Solari after Oscar Minambres's center from the right found the Argentine striker unmarked in front of goal after just six minutes. They made it 2-0 after the Portuguese defense failed to clear a long freekick by Fernando Hierro and Ivan Helguera stabbed the ball home in a goalmouth scramble 13 minutes later. That inspired Porto into a flurry of attacks and the Real defense finally yielded when Porto striker Helder Postiga beat Hierro on the right before crossing to Nuno Capucho to drive home after 26 minutes. Although Porto came close on a number of occasions in the second half, they were denied by some fine saves from Real's second-choice goalkeeper Cesar Dominguez and a dose of bad luck. "I think the result was unjust," said Porto coach Jose Mourinho. "But you have to be realistic. A team that commits two errors like we did ends up paying. We are sad and frustrated," he added. Real left Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos and Raul behind in Madrid to rest ahead of coming key games in the Spanish championship, while their Portuguese international winger Luis Figo is injured. But the gamble paid off handsomely with the relatively inexperienced team soaking up the pressure from an increasingly desperate Porto. Porto are something of a talisman for Real having been in their qualifying groups in both 1998 and 2000 when the Spanish went on to lift the Champions Cup. Charmed start Real got off to a charmed start, with both their goals coming against the run of play. Thereafter they rarely troubled Portuguese international goalkeeper Vitor Baia. At the other end, Dominguez was consistently in action, particularly in the second half as Porto went in search of the equalizer. Capucho, who was causing problems to the Real defense with some searing runs down the right flank, found midfielder Miran Pavlin in space early in the second half and the Slovene's quick shot forced Dominguez into a diving save. Dominguez was back in action just a few minutes later when Capucho himself turned quickly and fired from the edge of the box. Del Bosque strengthened the midfield from the start of the second half bringing Alberto Celades off the bench. He then sent defender Michel Salgado on to replace Raul Bravo who was having difficulty in containing the rampaging Capucho. But all the Portuguese pressure ended in frustration. The crowd in the Antas stadium was left groaning after first Brazilian striker Clayton Cruz and then defender Carlos Paredes both failed in front of goal in the final minutes of the game. Del Bosque wins gamble as Real reaches last eightReal Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque gambled and won on Wednesday when his makeshift side beat Porto 2-1 to storm into the last eight of the Champions league. "We got to 2-0 pretty easily, but after that it became very difficult. The important thing is that we achieved our objective of qualifying [for the quarterfinals]," he said. "I hope this victory will bring us others away from home in the Spanish league," said the coach, whose side has turned in some disappointing performances recently away from their San Bernabeu stadium. Real lie second in the domestic championship, one point behind Valencia, and the coach opted to leave some top names, including Zinedine Zidane and Roberto Carlos, behind in Madrid to rest. Having won their previous three group C games, the Spanish club was already virtually assured of qualifying for the next phase and so del Bosque felt he could afford the risk. Real got off to a dream start when two defensive errors by the Portuguese gifted them a 2-0 lead within minutes. Porto pulled one back before half-time and then subjected the relatively inexperienced Real team to heavy pressure as they went in search of the equalizer. Porto coach Jose Mourinho said his team only had itself to blame for giving away two easy goals and then failing to take their own chances. "We were unfortunate at both ends. In the first half, we were unfortunate in our area and in the second in theirs," he said. "I consider the result was unjust. We had great chances to score and we nearly equalized. But our opponents knew how to keep us at bay," he said. SummaryPorto 1 Real Madrid 2 - result Champions League second stage, group C Scorers: Porto: Nuno Capucho 26 Real Madrid: Santiago Solari 6, Ivan Helguera 19 Halftime: 1-2; Attendance 37,000 Teams Porto: 99-Vitor Baia; 7-Carlos Secretario, 33-Ricardo Silva (15-Dmitri Alenitchev 67), 13-Jorge Andrade, 30-Mario Silva, 5-Carlos Paredes, 25-Candido Costa (28-Clayton Cruz 55), 8-Miran Pavlin, 10-Deco Sousa, 41-Helder Postiga (31-Jesus Pena 66), 21-Nuno Capucho. Real Madrid: 13-Cesar Dominguez; 26-Oscar Minambres, 18-Aitor Karanka (20-Albert Celades 46), 4-Fernando Hierro, 31-Francisco Pavon, 30-Raul Bravo (2-Michel Salgado 75), 16-Flavio Conceicao, 6-Ivan Helguera, 8-Steve McManaman (23-Pedro Munitis 63), 21-Santiago Solari, 14-Guti. Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
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