Juventus advanced to the quarter-final stage of the Champions League following a 3-0 aggregate victory over FC Porto.
The Italian outfit had a 2-0 lead from the first-leg and they secured their passage to the last eight through Paulo Dybala’s first-half penalty, after Porto defender Maxi Pereira saw red for a deliberate handball.
The home side made four changes to the team that started the 2-1 victory over AC Milan in Serie A on Friday, with Alex Sandro, Claudio Marchisio, Juan Cuadrado and Mario Mandzukic coming in for Andrea Barzagli, Kwadwo Asamoah, Miralem Pjanic and Marko Pjaca.
While Porto made just one change from their side following their 4-0 thrashing of Arouca in the Primeira Liga last week, with Miguel Layun replacing Alex Telles at left-back, who was ruled out through suspension following his red card in the first leg at the Estádio do Dragão.
Juve domination
Juventus dominated the early stages with plenty of possession but neither side created any clear-cut chances in front of goal.
Juve attacking trio Dybala, Mario Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain all had early efforts but none of them managed to test Porto keeper Iker Casillas.
Mandzukic and Higuain both headed wide, while Dybala saw his shot fly high over the crossbar from inside the penalty area.
Dybala steps up
The game’s only goal arrived minutes before half-time as Casillas parried an Alex Sandro header straight into the path of Higuain, who’s goalbound effort was stopped on the line by the hands of Periera, leading a penalty for Juventus, which Dybala clinically put away.
Both sides made changes at half-time with Juventus bringing on Marko Pjaca for Juan Cuadrado, who was struggling with an injury, while Porto manager Nuno Espírito Santo introduced centre-back Willy Boly in place of striker André Silva to shore up his side defensively following the red card.
Wasteful Porto
The Portuguese side struggled to find their way back into the tie following Periera’s red card, however, the away side did waste a golden opportunity early in the second-half, with Francisco Soares clean through on goal after nicking the ball off Juventus defender Medhi Benatia but he flashed his shot wide of the far post.
The Old Lady had chances to find the net again with substitute Pjaca cleverly controlling a flicked pass from Mandzukic inside the penalty area before dragging his shot wide.
Not long after Pjaca's effort, Higuain displayed his strength by bustling his way through a crowd of players to find space for a low shot which travelled wide.
Who's next?
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri will now be focusing on his side's next opponent in Europe with the quarter-final draw taking place on Friday morning.
Allegri's side will fancy their chances in this competition, despite the prospect of drawing the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the next round.