Barcelona beats Porto to reach knockout stages

Barcelona came from behind to beat Porto 2-1 on Tuesday and reach the Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in three seasons, which coach Xavi Hernandez said was “an important step” for the club. Brazilian winger Pepe sent Porto ahead but Barcelona’s Portuguese duo Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix both netted to turn the game on its head. The former Benfica pair pounced against their old club’s rival to ensure Xavi’s team would not face a humiliating group-stage exit as it did in the last two seasons. “Today we are very happy, it’s an important step in the project, it’s very positive for the club,” Xavi said. “It’s important, the team has grown, we beat a really good team, it’s a day to be very content and satisfied.” Defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk in Hamburg in its previous European match made Barca nervous, with poor performances domestically adding to the jitters. Despite conceding first, Cancelo quickly leveled and set up Felix in the second half for the winner to delight Barca’s fans at the Olympic Stadium on the city’s Montjuic Hill. “It was a final and we won it …we’ve put the club in the last 16, which is where it deserves to be,” Cancelo told Movistar. “When results don’t come, your confidence is not the same.” Xavi shook up his side with Cancelo switching to leftback and Oriol Romeu dropped for Ilkay Gundogan after Barca’s 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, the latest in a string of sub-par displays. Inaki Pena kept his place in goal for the Catalans while first-choice Marc-Andre ter Stegen is out with back pain and made several saves as both sides racked up good chances. Porto’s Pepe, whistled by Barca fans because of his Real Madrid past, became the fifth oldest player in Champions League history at 40 years and 275 days.