Gustavo Manduca's late strike returned Apoel Nicosia to the top of UEFA Champions League Group G at the expense of Porto.

Manduca wins it for Apoel after late Hulk penalty

Gustavo Manduca's late strike returned Apoel Nicosia to the top of UEFA Champions League Group G at the expense of Porto. Ailton won and converted a 42nd-minute penalty for the Cypriot champions but Hulk looked to have earned a point for Porto after his spot-kick with a minute to play. But Manduca won it at the death for the hosts, who were temporarily displaced at the head of the table after Zenit St Petersburg beat bottom side Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 in Russia earlier on Tuesday. The victory sees the unbeaten Apoel return to the top by a point, while Porto are now four points off the summit with just two games to play. The Nicosia-based club only made their first appearance in the Champions League two seasons ago and look to have made huge strides forward since they finished fourth in a group that contained Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Porto.

Enjoyed possession

Porto enjoyed the majority of the possession in the first half and Hulk proved to be a constant threat, forcing Apeol goalkeeper Urko Pardo into the action early on with a strike from the middle of the area. The Brazilian striker was at the heart of the Porto attack and tried to push forward at every opportunity as both sides looked to control possession early on. Manduca fired a shot over the bar for the Cyprus side in the ninth minute in a rare chance as Apoel struggled to mount any counter-attacks. Hulk almost opened the scoring for Porto in the 19th minute after a powerful run down the left but his strong shot was cleared at the near post after he failed to create a decent angle. Apoel striker Ailton then missed the target with a diving header at the near post which hit the base of the upright. Hulk and Alvaro Pereira combined well down the left but another chance went begging for Porto when Hulk's route into the area was blocked off by the Apoel defence as the Portuguese side failed to find the decisive final ball. Pardo then made another save, this time from a low, fizzing shot by Hulk, to keep the scores locked at 0-0.

Opened scoring

However, it was the home side who opened the scoring in the 42nd minute when Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala fouled Ailton in the area and conceded a penalty. Ailton stepped up and struck the ball into the bottom right-hand corner to give Apoel the lead against the run of play. After the break, Porto continued to make plenty of chances, with Hulk, Joao Moutinho and Fernando Belluschi all seeing their shots neutralised by the home defence. Hulk looked to have salvaged a point in the 89th minute when he scored from the spot after Marcelo de Oliveira fouled James Rodriguez in the area, however it was not to be as Apoel hit back two minutes later. Konstantinos Charalambidis fired in a great cross and found Manduca in the box, whose left-footed strike from close range sealed the win for Apoel, who have now won two and drawn two in this season's European campaign, while reigning Europa League champions Porto are languishing in third, three points behind Zenit with two games to play.

Apoel Nicosia	Team Statistics	FC Porto
2	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	0
3	Shots on Target	6
1	Shots off Target	9
1	Blocked Shots	8
3	Corners	9
13	Fouls	13
10	Offsides	1
3	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
71.1	Passing Success	77.2
27	Tackles	24
77.8	Tackles Success	75
41.2	Possession	58.8
45.6	Territorial Advantage	54.4
332	Total Passes	470
12	Total Crosses	34
187	Lost Balls	202
69	Recoveries	72