In the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, Porto defeated Arsenal 1-0 thanks to a goal from Wenderson Galeno in stoppage time on Wednesday. Four minutes into extra time, Galeno broke the tie with a right-footed shot into the far corner, forcing Arsenal to win the second leg in London on March 12 in order to advance to the quarterfinals of Europe's top club tournament for the first time in fourteen years.
The English squad, playing in the Champions League for the first time since 2016–17, had seven straight attempts from 2011–17 to go past the round of 16. In the previous 16, it has lost its previous six first-leg games. When Porto last advanced to this point, it was defeated by Arsenal in 2010. Last season, Porto was eliminated in the round of 16. The Portuguese squad's most recent quarterfinal appearance was in 2021.