Inter’s Champions League round of sixteen opponents Porto have made a habit of knocking Italian teams out of Europe’s top competitions, and the Nerazzurri will be hoping that they can end this streak.

This is highlighted in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who note that under coach Sergio Conceicao, the Portuguese side have eliminated all of Roma, Juventus, and AC Milan from the competition.

Porto are hardly a team to be underestimated at any point in the Champions League, and this has been especially the case since Conceicao took over.

The coach guided the Portuguese champions to top a group containing Club Brugge, Bayer Leverkusen, and Atletico Madrid, which is only the latest impressive campaign for them in Europe under his stewardship.

As the Gazzetta notes, Conceicao has gained a reputation for making Porto exceedingly good at negating opposition strengths, with the ability to switch between a 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 formation depending on which is needed against specific opponents.

This has served Conceicao and Porto well in previous meetings with Italian teams.

In the 2018-19 season, the Portuguese side eliminated Roma at the round of sixteen stage of the Champions League.

Then, during the 2020-21 season, the Portuguese side eliminated Juventus from the same stage of the competition, needing extra time as they had done against the Giallorossi.

Last season, it was Inter’s city rivals AC Milan who fell victim, as the Rossoneri were outclassed by the Portuguese team in their two group stage meetings which sealed their exit bottom of their group.

Now, the Nerazzurri meet Porto at the same stage as the Giallorossi and the Bianconeri did in recent seasons, and they will be hoping that they can fare better.