Paris Saint-Germain are your Group A winners. The Ligue 1 side emerged victorious in their Champions League victory over Porto at the Parc des Princes thanks mostly to a hilarious error from visiting goalkeeper Helton, overcoming a one-point deficit going into the match in entertaining fashion.
PSG vs. Porto, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Final score 2-1, PSG top Group A
Porto had dominated the reverse fixture as PSG looked for a draw at the Dragao, but the hosts came out to win here, pressing their guests deep into their own halves and forcing them to play mostly on the counterattack. There was plenty of pressure from Helton’s goal, especially from set pieces, and it came as zero surprise when they took the lead.
Nicolas Otamendi had kept Jeremy Menez in his pocket for most of the opening half hour of the match, but the winger finally escaped his clutches in the 28th minute and was brought down in a heap by the corner of the penalty box. Maxwell swung in a deep free kick, and Thiago Silva was on hand with a majestic header which clipped off the bottom of Helton's crossbar on its way into the back of the net.
Porto were having issues in defence, but still looked fairly dangerous going forward, with Silvestre Varela particularly energetic, and they were able to claw their way back to level terms four minutes later when Danilo cruised past Javier Pastore and crossed for Jackson Martinez to fire home from close range.
If their goal gave the visitors hope of holding out for the top they needed to maintain their position atop the group, PSG’s response would have quickly dispelled that particular illusion. The hosts began the second half on the attack, and eventually Helton got tired of waiting for them to score and helped them along.
Ezequiel Lavezzi was almost too embarrassed to celebrate when his near post shot was somehow scrambled in after being stopped by the goalkeeper, but gaffe or not, it was a vital goal. Porto were forced to reply, and they nearly did through Martinez, whose one on one chance was blocked by Salvatore Sirigu before Lucho Gonzalez lashed the rebound over from range.
That proved to be the last major test PSG’s goalkeeper would face -- a last gasp free kick saw Otomendi free on goal only to head well wide -- and the French side emerged as group winners after an impressive performance.
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