Terem Moffi played the full 90 minutes as Porto beat Stuttgart 2-0 at the Estadio do Dragao on Thursday night, completing a 4-1 aggregate win to advance to the Europa League quarter-finals, Footynaija.com reports.
It was a night that belonged more to goalkeeper Diogo Costa and substitute Victor Froholdt, whose screamer from outside the box sealed the tie late on.
Moffi did not get on the scoresheet, but his contribution to Porto’s run in this competition has been good. He scored in the first leg in Germany three weeks ago, opening the scoring with a sharp right-footed finish after a neat one-two with Borja Sainz, and has now registered two goals in four Europa League appearances since his January arrival from Nice.
What caught the eye on Thursday was his endurance. The 26-year-old has not had an easy few months. His time at Nice came to an end after hostile scenes involving their own supporters in November.
By the time Porto brought him in on a permanent deal in January for €8 million, he had gone weeks without meaningful playing time. That showed in his early Porto performances, where he was eased in carefully.
Thursday told a different story. Speaking after the final whistle, per Ojogo, Porto manager Francesco Farioli picked out Moffi specifically when assessing the win.
“William, Moffi played the full 90 minutes, which he hadn’t done in a long time. We had very strong collective and individual performances, and the effort paid off,” Farioli said.
Porto will face Nottingham Forest in the last eight, a tie that pitches two of Moffi’s international teammates against each other, Taiwo Awoniyi lining up for Forest and compatriot Zaidu Sanusi on the Porto side.
The quarter-final first leg is scheduled for April 10.
