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Shaky Porto beats Lokomotiv 3-1 in Champions League
MOSCOW (AP) — A win made in Mexico put Porto in control of its Champions League group Wednesday.
Jesus Corona scored one goal and set up another for his fellow Mexican Hector Herrera as Porto recovered from a shaky start to beat Lokomotiv Moscow 3-1.
Herrera helped end any hope of a Lokomotiv comeback when his run behind the defense in the 76th minute prompted Solomon Kverkvelia into a rash tackle which earned a straight red card.
Porto is top of Group D on seven points, two ahead of Schalke and three ahead of Galatasaray. A win over Lokomotiv at home in its next game would put Porto on the verge of qualifying.
"There's no doubt we were the better team in this match, but I didn't like what was happening at the back sometimes," Porto coach Sergio Conceicao said through a translator.
Porto struggled in defense throughout the game and almost conceded early on when Iker Casillas' lightning reflexes stopped Porto falling behind in the 10th, leaping to keep out Manuel Fernandes' penalty after Alex Telles brought down Lokomotiv's Alexei Miranchuk.
Telles was the hero soon after, diving on the goalline to block Eder's shot.
Moussa Marega scored Porto's first goal from a 26th-minute penalty at the other end after a foul by Eder.
Porto's Jesus Corona crossed for his fellow Mexican Hector Herrera to score with a header in the 35th. Lokomotiv hit back three minutes later when Alexei Miranchuk cut the ball back for his twin brother Anton to send into the top corner. It was Lokomotiv's first Champions League goal since February 2004.
Yacine Brahimi's pass made the third goal for Porto in the 47th, slicing through the Lokomotiv defense to Corona, who blasted the ball past goalkeeper Guilherme.
"I think the goal came at the right moment," Corona said. "It was important to win here. It's not over, but it was very important to win away."
Despite the win, Casillas often berated Porto's defense as poor positioning led to rushed clearances or chances for Lokomotiv.
The Russian champion's finishing was poor with strikers Fyodor Smolov and Jefferson Farfan injured. Lokomotiv depended heavily on Portuguese forward Eder, whose main contributions were to miss an excellent chance and give away the penalty which led to Porto's first goal.
"We couldn't use what we'd created, and Porto took those chances," coach Yuri Syomin said.
Galatasaray drew 0-0 with Schalke in Wednesday's other Group D game.
Lokomotiv's first Champions League group stage campaign in 15 years looks all but over at the halfway point, with the Russian champion having lost all three games.
A day after Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho walked to a Champions League game to avoid a traffic jam, Lokomotiv's players took to a commuter train after their bus was delayed.
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