Barcelona 'Get Rid Of Ghosts' With Important Win At Porto

Ferran Torres's strike earned Barcelona a tense 1-0 win at Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday, which coach Xavi Hernandez said "got rid of ghosts" the club had from previous years. Barcelona have been eliminated in the opening stage in the past two editions but this hard-fought triumph on the road puts them in a strong position as Group H leaders to avoid a third consecutive strike-out. Xavi said the trip to the north of Portugal would be the hardest group game and his team had to dig deep, surviving a penalty which was cancelled after a VAR review and an offside goal in the gripping final stages.

Barca midfielder Gavi was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card as the Catalans clung on desperately to secure victory.

"We lacked a lot of calm, a lot of patience (but) this is Europe, it's Porto, it's away from home, everything is hard, very hard," Xavi told reporters, after his 100th game as Barca coach.

"If we talk about negatives there are a lot, but if we talk about positives there are a lot too.

"We came from having 'ghosts', but now we've got rid of them. We were able to win away from home against a historic team."

Five-time champions Barcelona last won the competition in 2015, with the years since littered with struggle and failure on the continent.

Xavi selected youngster Lamine Yamal on the right wing, making him the youngest starter in Champions League history at 16 years and 83 days.

The teenager showed some bright sparks in the first half but largely Porto were on top, cutting through a Barcelona midfield shorn of the injured Pedri and Frenkie de Jong.

Barcelona holding midfielder Oriol Romeu endured a tough night, with Porto harrying him at every possible moment, roared on by a packed Dragao