Barça 40-33 Porto: Performance at the Palau

A real team performance saw Barça beat Porto 40-33, with Aleix Gómez (7) and Richardson (7) in attack and keeper Pérez de Vargas (13) proving cornerstones in this victory.

Attacking and keeping efficiency

Wanne opened the scoring in the first minute of what would prove to be an industrious first half, with Dika Mem, Blaz Janc and Richardson all buttressing an efficient attacking performance that featured 20 goals from just 26 shots.

At the other end, Pérez de Vargas was simply sublime in the first half, saving 10/25 shots, featuring a superb double save that raised the Palau Blaugrana roof. The efficient play at both ends saw the blaugranes go into the break 20-15 up.

Lead extended to close out victory

The second half saw the blaugranes difficult to break through while the likes of Aleix Gómez added to his 7 goals in the game that saw the home side's lead extended. Pedro Veitia from Oporto had to sit out two minutes for a foul, and Barça took full advantage, scoring two goals while the visitors had no keeper, and ultimately went on to close out a 40-33 victory.

A step closer to the Champions League quarterfinals for Barça, with the next match a mouthwatering clash against second-placed Magdeburg on 29 February. First up though, a Liga fixture at the Palau against Recoletas Atlético Valladolid on Saturday.

MATCH STATS

Barça 40
Porto 33

Barça: Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas (13), Hampus Wanne (4), Jonathan Carlsbogard (4), Blaz Janc (4), Dika Mem (5), Thiagus Petrus (0), Luis Frade (3) - starting seven - Emil Nielsen (0), Pol Valera, Aitor Ariño (2), Timothey N'Guessan (3), Aleix Gómez (7), Haniel Langaro (1), Melvyn Richardson (7), Petar Cikusa (0), Javier Rodríguez (0).

Porto: Nikola Mitrevski (6), David Fernández (2), Ignacio Plaza (3), Rui Silva (3), Pedro Veitia (4), Mamadou Diocou (3), Leonel Fernandes (2) - starting seven - Diogo Rêma (2), Jakob Mikkelsen (4), Diogo Oliveira (2), Christoffer Brännberger (0), Diogo Branquinho (2), Antonio Areia (4), Laeso Christensen (4), Ricardo Brandão (0), Fábio Magalhães (0).

Partial scores: 3-3 / 6-5 / 10-10 / 14-11 / 17-13 / 20-15 / halftime / 25-18 / 29-20 / 32-23 / 35-24 / 38-30 / 40-33.

Referees: Kursad Erdogan and Ibrahim Özdeniz.