Porto manager blames referee for loss against FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona currently sit top of Group H in the Champions League having recorded two wins from two, and walked out of Porto on Wednesday night with all three points, a huge leap towards qualification considering that was expected to be the toughest game.

It was a very hard-fought match with plenty of controversy including a disallowed goal and several penalty appeals. Referee Anthony Taylor was quick to whip out his cards, with 6 Barcelona players going into the book including a sending-off for Gavi.

Whether the referee made the right decisions or not is up to interpretation, but Porto manager Sérgio Conceição is adamant that Barcelona were given an advantage, with the Porto man claiming that his side was facing more than just the opposition.

Porto manager hits out at referee after loss to FC Barcelona

When asked to comment on the game, Sérgio Conceição didn’t hold back

"“I think we played against more than one club, I think that’s all said. I don’t usually talk about refereeing, in other years I spoke and said that we were ‘small’ in Europe and I was criticized a lot for my small mentality. I’ve heard other things now, so I just say this.” he said to Portuguese outlet Publico"

Porto were very well organised against Barcelona, and on the balance of play a draw would have been a fair result. But the combination of Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde, with the Berlin Wall standing tall in goal ensured that Barca kept their second clean sheet in a row.

But the referee didn’t lose Porto the game. An individual error by Romário Baró and a failure to take their chances lost them the game. Anthony Taylor was quick to flash the cards at the Barcelona players, which would indicate that he didn’t favour the club from Catalonia.

Losing at home is difficult, but sometimes you just have to accept it and move on.