Five key stats from FC Porto 0-1 Barcelona | UEFA Champions League

Barcelona moved three points clear at the top of Group H in the UEFA Champions League after they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over FC Porto on Wednesday.

It was a tightly contested game between the champions of Spain and Portugal and had its fair share of controversial moments as well.

Ultimately, though, Barça who went down to ten men during the final stages of the game, emerged out with all three points thanks to a goal from Ferran Torres.

The 23-year-old did not start against Porto but came on in the first half after Robert Lewandowski picked up a knock.

Just ten minutes after coming on, Torres found the back of the net for the Catalans, proving to be the match-winner on the night.

With his strike, Ferran Torres has now scored four goals in his last nine games for Barcelona in all competitions, as many as in the previous 32.

Given Barcelona’s recent track record in Europe, especially in away games, the win against Porto is seen as a very crucial one.

It means that Barça have now won two consecutive away games in the Champions League (Viktoria Plzen in November 2022, Porto last night) for the first time since December 2020 (3).

The night was also a special occasion for a certain Xavi Hernandez as he reached a personal milestone as Barcelona manager.

On Wednesday, Xavi became tonight the 11th coach in Barcelona history to reach 100 games as manager.

It was also a landmark occasion for Barcelona teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal, as he became the youngest player ever to start a Champions League match (16 years and 83 days), surpassing Celestine Babayaro’s record (16y 86d) from November 1994.

The big blemish on the night came in the form of Gavi’s sending-off for a second yellow card late in stoppage time.

The teenage midfielder will now miss the upcoming Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk later this month.

In a bit of a worrying trend for Barcelona, Gavi has picked up six yellow cards in his last six games in European competitions.