Zaidu Sanusi silences Felipe Anderson to help Porto progress to Round of 16

Nigerian left-back Zaidu Sanusi played a key role for Porto as the Portuguese giants secured their place in the Europa League Round-of-16 with a 4-3 aggregate win over Lazio.

Sergio Conceicao's side came to Stadio Olimpico with a 2-1 first-leg advantage but they were made to work for their qualification with the second leg ending in a 2-2 draw on the night.

Ciro Immobile drew Lazio level in the tie with a 19th-minute effort before Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi dispatched a well-taken penalty in the 31st minute to put Porto back in front. 

Mateus Uribe's 68th-minute goal more or less ensured the ticket for Porto but Danilo Cataldi's 95th-minute effort ensured there was late drama as Maurizio Sarri's side tried to claw their way back into the fixture.

Sanusi was successful in nullifying the attacking threat of Felipe Anderson with the Nigerian defender restricting his opponent to only two successful dribbles out of seven attempts and no shots on target or off for the Brazilian forward.

Sanusi recorded four clearances, one of them being a goal-line clearance in the early second half.

The 24-year-old also 10 of 18 duels he contested and completed two of three dribbles alongside 81.6% of his passes as the left-back showed some of his attacking instincts. 

Porto join Dinamo Zagreb, Atalanta, and RB Leipzig amongst the first teams to secure their spots in the Round-of-16 of the Europa League.