Ex-Man United defender sparks chaos with theatrics in Porto box as Inter bench stop melee

The Inter Milan right back, who played at Old Trafford between 2015 and 2019, was one of the stories of the first-half of the Champions League last-16 tie against Porto.

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A lung-busting run just after the 30-minute mark was followed up by a brilliantly-timed tackle on a counter-attacking Galeno, stopping a breakaway from a corner and getting San Siro on its feet.

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It wasn't long after until the two were back in the Porto box, with Darmian putting in a cross as the Brazilian swiped for a tackle.

He missed, and glanced the Italian's ankle, leaving him rolling around theatrically on the turf.

Inter desperately pleaded with referee Sran Jovanovic to check VAR, and after playing the ball out for Darmian who was still on the turf, things quickly spiralled out of control.

Porto opted to try and play on with the throw-in, rather than return possession, and the Inter bench were quickly on the pitch to complain.

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Porto's Otavio squared up to Alessandro Bastoni, with the former picking up a yellow card along with Inter's Federico Dimarco.

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Bastoni was again involved just before half-time when a point-blank header from a set piece looked destined for the back of the net.

Man United and Chelsea linked goalkeeper Diogo Costa had other ideas though, with his stunning reactions seeing the goal-bound shot deflect off his forearm and over.

However, he couldn't keep out Romelu Lukaku's late effort, the former Man United striker striking late to give the Italian side an advantage ahead of the second leg at the Estadio Do Dragao on March 14.

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