Lopez double pulls Porto level at Atletico
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MADRID - Lisandro Lopez scored a goal in each half to help Porto rally twice to draw 2-2 at Atletico Madrid in their Champions League first knockout round first leg on Tuesday.
Atletico took the lead in the third minute when Sergio Aguero's attempted pass to strike partner Diego Forlan ran through to Maxi on the right of the area and he slammed the ball past goalkeeper Helton.
Dangerous forward Hulk caused problems for the home defence as Porto came back strongly and he blazed a shot over the bar before Forlan stung Helton's hands with a powerful drive.
The equaliser came after 22 minutes when defender Pablo Ibanez badly misjudged a header and Lopez raced through to drive the ball in off keeper Leo Franco.
A dreadful mistake by Helton gifted Atletico their second goal in first-half stoppage time. Forlan fired a speculative long-range effort and the ball squirmed through the Porto keeper's hands and into the net.
Porto almost equalised immediately after the restart when Franco saved superbly from a Cristian Rodriguez header and Lisandro spooned a first-time shot over the bar with only the keeper to beat.
It was only a matter of time before the visitors got a deserved second and Lopez turned in Aly Cissokho's low cross with 18 minutes left to make it a disappointing end to new Atletico coach Abel Resino's Champions League debut.
The second leg is at Porto on March 11