FC Porto are through to the quarter-final stage of the 2020/21 Champions League.The Portuguese side defied the odds against Juventus on Tuesday night, progressing to the final eight on away goals after losing 3-2 in Turin.Yes, they may have tasted defeat, but the fact they had to play over half the 120 minutes of action with 10 men after Mehdi Taremi's 54th-minute red card highlights what a herculean effort they put in.Juve's array of attacking stars were thwarted time and time again by Porto's stubborn defence, which was marshalled by 38-year-old stalwart Pepe.The former Real Madrid centre-back rolled back the years, producing one of the greatest individual defensive performances in Champions League history.Per Squawka, Pepe won 100% of his aerial duels, made 18 clearances (12 of those with his head), recovered the ball on eight occasions, blocked two shots and made two tackles.The numbers speak for themselves and one of his final acts in Tuesday's epic encounter under the lights in Turin was a heroic clearance in the 124th-minute.Had Pepe not intervened with a display of acrobatics in his own box, Juve defender Matthijs de Ligt would have been in on goal and been presented with an opportunity to break Porto hearts.But Pepe had other ideas...

Pepe's clearance

After over two hours of dogged, energy-sapping defensive work, the 38-year-old still had the fitness and composure to produce a stylish intervention that pretty much saved a certain goal.

Following the final whistle in Turin, Gary Lineker, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole all waxed lyrical about Pepe in the BT Sport studio.

Pundits praise Pepe

"If I'm coaching at a football club now I'd get all these clips and give them to every young centre-half at the club," Ferdinand says during the clip above and he's absolutely bang on the money.

Pepe's hot-headed nature throughout his career means he's never going to win any popularity contests, but no football fan can deny him a place among the greatest defenders of the modern era.