Meireles left to regret slow start

FC Porto midfielder Raul Meireles admitted the Portuguese champions paid the price for making the worst possible start in their UEFA Champions League defeat by Manchester United FC.

'Bad start'
There was no coming back for Porto after Cristiano Ronaldo's superb sixth-minute strike for the visitors deflated the pre-match optimism inside the Estádio do Dragão and ultimately proved enough to secure United a 3-2 aggregate victory. "A goal in the early stages is not good for a side," said the Portuguese international, who troubled the away defence at times with the quality of his balls into the box. "We had a bad start and their first shot was a goal. We did everything to draw and qualify, but it wasn't enough."

Complete contrast
It was a complete contrast with the first leg where Porto were the team to grab an early goal, setting the tone for a positive attacking display that was rewarded with a 2-2 draw. "The difference was the fact that we conceded a goal in the sixth minute," said striker Hulk, who struggled to repeat the impact he made at Old Trafford eight days earlier.

'Not Porto's night'
Midfielder Fernando lamented Porto's failure to build on their good work in Manchester, saying: "We had high expectations but we failed to meet them. We conceded a terrific goal in the first few minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo had a great shot and from then on we were behind. We tried and we had some attempts that got close to [Edwin] van der Sar's goal, but the ball didn't go in. Tonight was not Porto's night."

Sporting applause
"We are all sad," added midfielder Meireles, summing up the mood in the camp. In mitigation, the first-half loss of skipper Lucho to injury did not help the home side's cause and Meireles sought to find some positives, citing Porto's progress over a season when they reached the UEFA Champions League's last eight for the first time since 2004. "People have to recognise the improvement of this side and we also have to be grateful for the support of the fans," he concluded. He was certainly right to credit the supporters at the Dragão who did not just create a wonderful atmosphere but showed their sporting nature with a round of applause for Porto old boy Anderson as he made way for Paul Scholes in the closing stages.