Galatasaray beats Porto 1-0 to start Emirates Cup

LONDON - The Associated Press

G:alatasaray's two starts, Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder linked up effectively during the second-half of the game. AA photo

Galatasaray's Felipe Melo converted a penalty and FC Porto missed two as the Turkish league champions won 1-0 in the first match of the Emirates Cup on Aug. 3.

Porto had dominated possession in the early stages but failed to capitalize on its opportunities at Emirates Stadium. Jackson Martinez was denied by Galatasaray's goalkeeper Fernando Muslera early in the first half while Lucho Gonzalez failed to equalize late in the match, drawing his penalty wide to the left.

Galatasaray grew in confidence in the second half, with Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder linking up effectively and testing Muslera on several occasions. Porto had to rely on counterattacks, in particular on the speed of their Brazilian winger Kelvin.

Galatasaray were awarded the winning penalty in 71st minute after a run into the box by defender Emmanuel Eboue, who was playing at the Emirates Stadium for the first time since leaving Arsenal in 2011.

Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim acknowledged his side was lucky to survive the two penalties.

"In the first half Porto was better than us. Our play wasn't very satisfactory but in the second half we pressed more and we performed better," Terim said.

He decried mistakes in defense that had conceded the two penalties and exposed the goal, but said the team was still feeling the after-effects of preseason training. Arsenal and Napoli are the other two teams participateing at the high-profile preseason tournament.