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Porto's 45-Meter Backpass Blunder Gifts Forest Equalizer in Europa League Quarterfinal

Porto await scan results on 20-year-old right-back Martim Fernandes.

Overview

  • Porto struck first through William Gomes in the 11th minute before Nottingham Forest leveled two minutes later with a rare own goal.
  • The equalizer came when Martim Fernandes hit a long backpass from about 45 meters while goalkeeper Diogo Costa was outside his box, and the ball rolled into Porto's net.
  • Fernandes soon exited with an apparent ankle injury after a collision that followed teammate Gabri Veiga’s foul on Murillo, and he was substituted around the 19th minute.
  • Porto coach Francesco Farioli said Fernandes will have an MRI and will miss Sunday’s league match against Estoril.
  • The first leg finished 1-1, drawing sharp reactions from BBC, A Bola, Record, and The Telegraph, which described the mistake as one of the season’s most curious and an act of “astonishing generosity.”