Porto strengthened their grip on first place in Champions League Group H with a 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov in Belarus.

After a dull opening period, the visitors looked more like themselves after half time and took the lead through Hector Herrera's vicious swerving shot in the 56th minute.

Jackson Martinez and Cristian Tello added further goals to guarantee Julen Lopetegui's side top spot if they avoid defeat at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on matchday six.

Below, Sports Mole picks the bones out of Tuesday's early kickoff at the Borisov Arena.

Match statistics

BATE
Shots: 8
On target: 0
Possession: 33%
Corners: 0
Fouls: 18

PORTO
Shots: 9
On target: 4
Possession: 67%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 14

Was the result fair?

BATE were the better, hungrier side in the first half but the second half was completely different and Porto did deserve the win. 3-0 might be a tad harsh on the hosts, but they never really looked like causing Porto any problems.

BATE's performance

Aleksandr Yermakovich's side have now conceded 22 goals, and scored just once, in five games in the group stage. That equals the worst ever defensive record and they have to keep a clean sheet at Athletic Bilbao on matchday six to avoid becoming the leakiest Champions League group stage defence ever.

In the first half they played with plenty of passion and their high-octane pressing of Porto really got the crowd into it. However, their shooting was poor and come full time they hadn't mustered a single shot on target. They didn't win a corner either and really did look a good few classes below Porto. Herrera's goal completely took the wind out of their sails and they won't concede many better ones all season.

They had to win to stand any chance of reaching the knockouts, but are still in pole position to come third and go through to the Europa League. If Bilbao fail to beat Shakhtar tonight then all they'll need to do is avoid defeat in Basque country in two weeks.

Porto's performance

Another handsome win for Lopetegui's men. They beat BATE 6-0 at home on matchday one for their biggest ever Champions League win and once again looked comfortable against the Belarusian champions.

The first half was a lacklustre one but they improved dramatically after the interval as BATE's pressing eased and they had more time on the ball. The likes of Herrera, Martinez and Yacine Brahimi, who scored a hat-trick in the reverse back in September, started to come into their own and have more of an effect on the game.

Unlike BATE, Porto will now be hoping that Bilbao can pick up something in Ukraine so that the result when they meet Shakhtar doesn't have any bearing on the final standings.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Hector Herrera: The Mexican international was barely noticeable in the first half but was at the heart of all good things Porto did after half time. His goal was a fantastic strike and he went on to set up the other two with a neat layoff and incisive through-ball.

Biggest gaffe

There were no obvious gaffes really so we'll be mean and pick on Filip Mladenovic for allowing Martinez to easily run off him and score the second that sealed the win.

Referee performance

Romanian official Ovidiu Hategan certainly wasn't afraid to flash his yellow cards and perhaps could have kept them in his pocket on a couple of occasions. There were no real contentious decisions for him to have to deal with.

What next?

BATE: Shakhtyor are next in the Belarusian Premier League before BATE travel to Bilbao on Wednesday, December 10 for their final group game.

Porto: Porto have a pair of Primeira Liga games against Rio Ave and Academica in the next two weekends before they welcome Shakhtar in two weeks' time.