Porto´s Martinez eyes Champions League final

Porto star Jackson Martinez is targeting a run to the UEFA Champions League final after securing passage to the knockout phase on Wednesday.

The Primeira Liga side travelled to face Athletic Bilbao at San Mames and, with Shakhtar Donetsk thrashing BATE 5-0 in Group H’s other clash, a 2-0 win in Spain guaranteed Porto a spot in the next round.

After missing a first-half penalty, the impressive Martinez opened the scoring in the 56th minute, bundling home after fine wing play from Yacine Brahimi, who also produced a lively display.

In fact, the tricky Algerian continued his excellent acclimatisation to the Champions League, scoring his fourth goal in his debut campaign following a lapse in concentration by Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz.

And after confirming their place in the next phase of the competition, with Shakhtar likely to join them, Martinez believes Porto have what it takes to reach the final.

“We’ve made a great performance in defence and in attack,” the Colombian began.

“We are happy with what we did tonight. The penalty I missed does not matter; what matters is that we ended up winning the match.

“We have been training well, we have evolved a lot since the beginning of the season and, with the talent we have, we want to fight to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League.”