Porto take Europa title

Radamel Falcao scored the only goal of the game as Porto won the Europa League with a hard fought 1-0 win over Braga in Dublin.

Falcao header wins final for Portuguese champions

Porto won the Europa League after claiming a hard fought 1-0 win over Braga in Dublin. The only goal of the game arrived on the stroke of half-time when top-scorer Radamel Falcao headed home Fredy Guarin's cross. In a tense affair in the Irish capital, neither side was able to produce much quality and the chances were limited to say the least. Braga did have one wonderful chance to level just after the break when subsitute Mossoro broke clear but he was denied by goalkeeper Helton. The win now means Andre Villas-Boas is the youngest ever manager to win a European trophy, and Porto - who previously lifted this trophy in 2003 - are still on course for a treble as they could add the Portuguese Cup to their trophy cabinet on Sunday. The match may not have been a pulsating affair, but that should not detract from the magnitude of Villas-Boas' achievements. The young coach has enjoyed a stellar first full campaign in management, clinching the league unbeaten and the Portuguese Super Cup before tonight's victory, which guarantees him a place alongside some of Porto's coaching greats. Two of Villas-Boas' mentors, Sir Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho both won Europe's second club competition with the club and the fact that the Dragons have rampaged through Portugal and Europe this season will only serve to strengthen rumours linking the Porto boss with a summer move to one of the continent's heavyweights.

Entertainment

The match had been billed as an entertaining encounter but the majority of the opening 45 minutes slipped by without barely raising a pulse of the 45,391 fans inside the Aviva Stadium. Hulk was Porto's best player in the opening exchanges, drifting down the right flank, skipping past the wayward full-back Silvio on a few occasions. The Brazil striker, who has been linked with a number of Europe's top clubs, used his skill to slip past Silvio and Paulo Cesar before firing just past Artur's far post from six yards. Silvestre Varela's ambitious overhead kick sailed over the bar, but the Braga goal was rarely threatened. The underdogs looked cagey and unwilling to take the risk of racing at their opponents, perhaps mindful of the threat that Porto posed on the counter. Porto goalkeeper Helton rushed out to prevent Lima from shooting from 15 yards but Braga otherwise looked impotent. Hugo Viana entered the book for a sliding tackle on Hulk, who then wasted a 35-yard free-kick by shooting at least 10 feet over the Braga goal. Fredy Guarin found Varela in the box but the Porto forward spectacularly miscued a diving header wide as the game dithered on. A brilliant flick from Guarin allowed him to slip past Alberto Rodriguez, but Paulao covered to deny the Porto man an opportunity to shoot. Artur almost paid a high price for his lethargic attempt to clear when his kick was charged down by Falcao but the ball bounced wide of the Braga goal.

Winner

The prolific striker soon had the ball in the net though when he lost his marker to meet Guarin's cross and nod home from six yards with 90 seconds of the first half remaining. It was the Colombian's 17th goal of the competition proper, with an additional strike coming in the club's play-off against Rapid Vienna in September. Braga boss Domingos Paciencia brought on Kaka and Mossoro for Hugo Viana and Alberto Rodriguez at the break and the move almost paid off immediately. Mossoro could not have wished for a better opportunity to equalise when he dispossessed Fernando to race through, but he dallied and the Porto stopper saved with his legs. Cristian Sapunaru clattered into Paulo Cesar and went into the referee's book before Braga duo Miguel Garcia and Mossoro also saw yellow moments later. Braga looked more lively in the second half but Mossoro's opportunity aside, Helton was still not being tested. Paciencia looked to Albert Meyong for inspiration, the Cameroon striker coming on for Lima with 25 minutes left. A pacy ball across the box eluded Falcao's head as Porto looked for the killer blow before Paulao headed just over at the other end from six yards, although he was correctly ruled to be offside by the linesman. Villas-Boas crouched nervously on the touchline as Alan played in Meyong but the Porto boss had little to be worried about as Helton easily claimed the striker's weak shot. Kaka became the fifth Braga man to see yellow when he was harshly adjudged to have fouled Falcao. Porto substitute Fernando Belluschi sent a swerving shot just wide of Artur's near post with five minutes left as Braga struggled to get into the game. Porto dominated possession, but the Arsenalistas had a good chance to threaten the leaders' goal with a corner three minutes from time but Alan sent the ball too deep. Meyong was presented with a chance in the final minute of injury time but he volleyed over before being correctly called offside. Braga keeper Artur had a header saved in the last move of the match before the final whistle went and Villas-Boas was mobbed by his victorious team on the pitch.

FC Porto	Team Statistics	Sporting Braga
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
1	Shots on Target	2
6	Shots off Target	3
2	Blocked Shots	4
7	Corners	3
23	Fouls	20
4	Offsides	5
3	Yellow Cards	5
0	Red Cards	0
75.2	Passing Success	62.9
26	Tackles	24
80.8	Tackles Success	91.7
58	Possession	42
39.9	Territorial Advantage	60.1