Arsenal and Porto
faced each other in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16
.
Despite fighting until the end, the Portuguese team fell on
penalties 4 to 2
after tying on aggregate 1 to 1. In the
Dragoes , former Boca Juniors,
Alan Varela
, started
, but he had to
leave injured
when the match It came to 90 minutes.
According to journalist
Fabrizio Romano, scouts from
top European
clubs went to see the central midfielder
.
Varela arrived in Porto in 2023 and has played
33 games
where he scored two goals and gave two assists.
In the
Primeira Liga
of Portugal, the Argentine is very important for the construction of the
Porto
team's game .
He has
completed 1010 passes
, had five shots on goal and has been fouled 11 times.
On the defensive side, Varela
won 56 duels
out of 114, recovered the ball
90 times
and won in 14 innings.
This year they made their debut in the
UEFA Champions League
, the Portuguese team was part of group H that they shared with Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp.
They qualified in
second position with 12 points, the same score as
Xavi
's team
.
The one born in Isidro Casanova started all eight games that his club played in the European competition.
He recovered the ball for his team
50 times
and
won 21 of his 46 duels
against him, completing
328 of his 365 passes
against him.
However, despite Porto's great series in the Champions League, the dream of continuing to advance was over.
Those led by Sérgio Conceição
won the first leg
in Portugal by 1-0 (Varela was chosen by UEFA as the most outstanding player of the match), but lost at the Emirates by the same difference and the
Gunners
forced extra time
and then penalties where
They won 4 to 2
.
At the end of the 90 minutes,
Varela had to leave the field
of play due to injury.
The former Boca recovered a ball from the Norwegian Odegaard and when he gave the pass he fell to the ground and began to
take the right back
.
#CHAMPIONSxFoxSports |
VARELA INJURED: The former Boca left on a stretcher in the 94th minute due to a muscle injury.
Sensitive drop in Porto for the extension.
I experienced the Champions League on the Fox Sports screen.
pic.twitter.com/jcyZFMinby
— Fox Sports Argentina (@FOXSportsArg) March 12, 2024
After undergoing studies,
Alan Varela
is not injured, it was simply a
cramp resulting from the intense Champions League series that the former
Boca Juniors
central midfielder played
.
The Porto player had been summoned by
Javier Mascherano
to be part of the
Under 23 National Team
.
The Premier fights over the Porto midfielder
Like
Enzo Fernández
, Varela's time in Portuguese football has
its days numbered
.
After a great campaign at Benfica, the former River player moved to Chelsea in a transfer worth
131 million euros
.
Apparently now it is the former Boca's turn, two very important English football clubs
have set their sights on the midfielder
that emerged from
Xeneize
.
The two teams fighting for him are
Manchester City
and
Liverpool
.
The
Ciudadanos have
Julián Álvarez
in their ranks
and have already bought
Claudio
Diablito
Echeverry,
also from River.
If he went to Manchester, Varela would have tough competition to earn a place in
Guardiola
's team since the owners of the midfield are
Rodri
and
Kovacic
.
Despite Varela's attempts, Proto was left out of the Champions League.
Photo: Reuters
If he goes to
Merseyside
to defend the colors of
Liverpool
, the midfielder will share a team with another former Boca,
Alexis Mac Allister
and the competition for the midfield would be less aggressive.
The reality is that the team that wants to take the Porto midfielder will have to put at least
70 million euros
on the table , which corresponds to his termination clause.
Whichever team Varela goes to, Boca will make money because he has a
20% capital gain from a future sale
.