Kuranyi puts Porto to the sword

GERMANY striker Kevin Kuranyi fired his side a step closer to a Champions League quarter-final berth as his early goal was enough to seal a 1-0 first-leg win over FC Porto last night.

Kuranyi’s strike — which came as early as the fourth minute — handed the Royal Blues the initiative ahead of the return match on March 5 at the imposing 50,000-seater Estadio do Dragao.

For Porto, it was to be no fairytale return to the Veltins Arena — the scene of their 2004 Champions League triumph when they beat Monaco 3-0 — as Schalke’s Rafinha had his shot saved, but the rebound fell into Kuranyi’s path to fire home.