Mourinho full of hope for Porto

FC Porto coach José Mourinho rang the changes to his off-form side, and came up trumps with a 2-1 home win over Panathinaikos FC that keeps their UEFA Champions League hopes alive.

'There is hope'
After the game a relieved Mourinho said: "As always, where there is life, there is hope. Our game was not great from beginning to end, but it had good moments. The attitude we had in playing for a long time with ten men was good. With this win, we can take, at least, some hope for next week’s match in Prague."

Red card
Deco and Pena scored in each half, and despite Joonas Kolkka pulling one back for the visitors and Carlos Secretário's dismissal, Porto held on for a critical win, their first of the second group stage.

Injured duo
Indeed, Porto were clinging on from the moment Kolkka scored with 26 minutes to go, but were possibly helped by the first-half injuries to Jarni and Giorios Karagounis, two key Panathinaikos attacking players. Jarni was set clear midway through he first half, with his team already trailing 1-0, and bore down on goal. But as he prepared to shoot, he clashed heads with Karagounis. Both were heavily cut, and had to be replaced.

'Not fair'
Panathinaikos coach Sergio Markarian bemoaned this following the defeat, saying: "The final result is not fair. We were unlucky as within a minute we lost a chance to equalise and two players. We created some good chances and we were very close to an equaliser. We had some difficulties down our left flank, especially in defence, but we improved substantially in the second half and we were the only team, then."

'Have to beat Sparta'
Porto's Brazilian midfielder Deco, who finished coolly after 12 minutes to put his team ahead, and was lively for much of the game, summed up his side's task on Matchday Twelve: "We have to beat [AC] Sparta Praha, as Real Madrid can beat Panathinaikos."

Rampant Madrid
A point against Madrid would be enough for the Greek team, but with key players Angelis Basinas and Sotirios Kyrgiakos suspended after receiving bookings in the pouring Porto rain, their task is far from easy against a rampant Madrid team who have won all five second group stage matches, cruising past Sparta 3-0 with a virtually second-string side.

Welcome statistic
However, if Sparta, who are now out, can hold or beat Porto, Panathinaikos would be in the quarter-finals regardless of their own result, a welcome statistic after their defeat in Portugal.