FC Utrecht earns first UEFA Europa League point with 1–1 draw against FC Porto

FC Utrecht picked up its first point in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday with a 1-1 draw at home to FC Porto. Miguel Rodriguez broke the deadlock for the home side in the Galgenwaard before the Portuguese side equalized through Borja Sainz.

Utrecht manager Ron Jans picked David Min and Derry John Murkin in his starting 11. Both players were on the bench for the 1-0 win over NEC Nijmegen on Sunday. They replaced Sebastien Haller and Adrian Blake.

The first big chance went to FC Porto in the 12th minute. Quick interplay by the Portuguese side gave Gabriel Veiga the chance to score, but the Spaniard hit his shot just wide of the goal.

Porto had another significant chance a few minutes later. Borja Sainz had dribbled around Utrecht keeper Vasilias Barkas, who had come out of his goal, but the winger then opted against shooting despite the fact that the goal was vacant, opting instead to lay it off to the edge of the area. This killed the chance.

Porto, managed by former Ajax manager Francesco Farioli, was dominating the game. But they were guilty of trying to pass the ball into the net on several occasions. This occurred once more, a few minutes before halftime, when Stephen Eustaqio tried to dribble past a defender instead of shooting after receiving the ball in the box. This led to a deflection, which Barkas saved.

Utrecht made the perfect start to the second half. A pre-worked free kick was played into Miguel Rodriguez by Sofian El Karouani, and the Spanish winger took two touches before his shot was deflected into the goal via Martim Fernandes. It was Utrecht’s first goal in European competition since 2010.

Another set piece from El Karouani almost led to the second goal when his cross found Siebe Horemans in the box, but the defender headed it over the goal.

Utrecht’s chances of winning took a significant hit in the 66th minute when Porto equalized, and Barkas was sent off. Alonzo Engwanda was caught napping in the midfield, which led to a shot from Deniz Gul, which was saved by Barkas before the rebound was knocked into the goal by Borja Sainz. To make matters worse, an altercation between Barkas and a Porto player resulted in the goalkeeper being sent off.

As expected, Porto piled on the pressure in the closing stages, but the Utrecht defense held firm to hold on to the point.