published: wednesday 17 september 2014, 23.00cet fc porto 6-0 fc bate borisov
yacine brahimi hit an outstanding hat-trick to inspire the dragons to their biggest win in the competition against aleksandr yermakovich's men.
• yacine brahimi hat-trick inspires porto to biggest ever uefa champions league win • jackson martínez, adrián lópez and vincent aboubakar also score as hosts go top of group h • bate suffer heaviest ever defeat in competition • julen lopetegui enjoys first european match in charge of dragons • next games: shakhtar v porto, bate v athletic (30 september)
yacine brahimi netted an outstanding hat-trick, including a brilliant solo goal, on his uefa champions league debut as fc porto routed fc bate borisov 6-0 to kick off group h with their biggest win in the competition's history.
brahimi made himself an instant estádio do dragão hero with three fine and varied finishes, opening the scoring in the fifth minute after a mistake by visiting goalkeeper sergei chernik. things looked ominous for bate from the moment chernik threw the ball straight to brahimi who – in typically direct style – took on denis polyakov on the outside before finishing with aplomb from a tight angle.
bate's plan to play on the break nearly worked in the 12th minute when fabiano had to rush to the edge of his box to smother a shot by mikhail gordeychuk. jackson martínez then fired against the outside of the post as porto got well on top.
there was nothing chernik could do about porto's second in the 32nd minute as brahimi carried the ball with mesmerising close control and pace from inside his own half, shrugged aside anri khagush with skill and strength, before cutting inside and showcasing his sang froid in front of goal as he knocked it into the far corner off the post.
martínez had been a handful all game and the colombian international forward was rewarded for his unstinting efforts when he powered home a near-post header after perfect service from right-back danilo. soon after the restart martínez rattled the woodwork again, this time with a header.
brahimi completed his treble with a sumptuous curling free-kick from the left edge of the area, reminiscent of the algerian international's strike against losc lille in the play-offs. adrián lópez cleverly dinked the ball over chernik for porto's fifth in the 61st minute after bate failed to clear a corner. aboubakar then came off the bench to net a controlled 76th-minute goal on his uefa champions league debut, on a night neither brahimi nor porto coach julen lopetegui – another debutant at this level – will ever forget.
