Porto got back to winning ways on Sunday by beating Portimonense 1-0 thanks to a goal from the Brazilian Evanilson at the start of a match where the blue and white team has control, but cannot convert it into goals.
After falling to Benfica in the Primeira Liga (2-0) and FC Barcelona in the Champions League (0-1), Porto got back on track, albeit with some suffering.
The only goal of this match of the eighth round of the Portuguese championship was scored by Evanilson in the 9th minute.
Evanilson scored early
The ‘dragons’ forward was isolated afterwards a fantastic pass from his compatriot Pepê and beat the goalkeeper of Portimonense, Vinicius Silvestre, who allowed himself to be fooled by a ball bouncing off a teammate.
The team from the southern Algarve region only started to create danger in the middle of the second half and even came close to a draw, which was avoided by a massive save from Portuguese international Diogo Costa.
The ‘dragons’, with more control, looked for a more comfortable result on the scoreboard, but the clearest chances were wasted by their players or saved by Vinicius, one of the best on the pitch at the Estádio do Dragão.
Carmo sees red
Porto’s nerves increased with the dismissal of center back David Carmo, which exacerbated the blue and white’s problems in the defense area, with Pepe and Ivan Marcano, the regulars, absent through injury.
Carmo’s red card coach Sergio Conceição forced to change the positions of his team and bring on Mexican full-back Jorge Sánchez, who made his Primeira Liga debut.
Porto fans breathed a sigh of relief in the 94th minute with a goal from Spaniard Toni Martínez, but it was disallowed for offside.
The sport did not disappoint
Porto remain in third place in the table, three points behind leaders Sporting, who continued their good run of form and beat Arouca 2-1 to stay a point ahead of second-placed Benfica.
Sporting took the lead in the 31st minute through the Swede Viktor Gyökeres, who completed an English center with a mastery Marcus Edwards.
To this end, the seventh of eight games, Gyökeres continues to justify the 20 million euros paid by the “lions” to the English Coventry, making the Swedish international the most expensive signing of the Lisbon club.
Diomande saw the relationship between red and Mujica
Just when everything seemed to be going well for the green and white team, they were left with ten to see by the Ivorian central defender Ousmane Diomande his second yellow card and the subsequent red.
The tie came in the 52nd minute cwith a goal from Spanish striker Rafa Mujica. The Canarian, unmarked in the center of the area, headed home a precise cross from his compatriot’s left Jason Remeseiroformer player for teams such as Valencia and Levante.
Morita sentence with ten
Even with one less player on the field, Sporting continued to focus on the opponent’s goal and In the 68th minute they took the lead again with a goal from Japanese Hidemasa Morita, who deflected the ball into the back of Uruguayan De Arruabarrena’s net after a great individual action by Pedro Gonçalves.
The Lions went as close as third to a strong shot from Mozambique Geny Catamobut De Arruabarrena, with a great intervention, showed again why he is one of the best goalkeepers in Portugal.
On the part of Arouca, it is the Spaniard Cristo Gonzálezone of six Spanish players in the ‘wolves’ squad, most worried about Madrid goalkeeper Antonio Adán, but without success.
And in the 87th minute, the teams were left with the same number of players, then A second yellow card was shown to Portuguese defender Rafael Fernandes, formed in green and white quarries.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
