TIt burned, but it appeared. More than 900 days after the last victory in the Champions League, and still in the old format, FC Porto returned to smile in the millionaire league and then in the big league and in the French… or rather, in the Italian one. At the Estádio do Dragão, the Porto team thrashed a fragile Napoli 4-1 on Wednesday night, en route to their first European triumph of the season.
At Estádio do Dragão, FC Porto, which was coming off three defeats in the first three rounds of the league phase, was hungry looking for its first smile in Europe in 2026/27. In a duel between two Italian coaches, it was Francesco Farioli’s pizzeria that shone compared to Massimiliano Allegri’s and which served the best pizzas the night before.
Francesco Farioli’s Dragons soon showed what they were capable of, dominating and putting Napoli back on the ropes, with an early goal from Jan Bednarek. However, the team from southern Italy, who appeared at Invicta with several injury losses, managed to equalize through Scott McTominay to close the first half.
One could have expected a more balanced game in the second half due to this draw, but that was not what happened on the Dragão pitch. FC Porto only scored in the second 45 minutes and the three goals that came were few given the fragility shown by the Italians in the second half.
FC Porto intensified its pressure on the opponent, looking to regain the advantage, creating several opportunities in the opening minutes. Jan Bednarek Gabri Veiga left the Italians anxious… and they completely broke down after the 70th minute. Isolated by Santiago Giménez, Gabri Veiga shot between the goalkeeper’s legs to make it 2-1, in the 71st minute. The necessary blow was given to destroy the Italians.
Without the ability to stop the power of the blue and whites, Napoli conceded another goal in the 80th minute, again from a corner, this time with Kiwior taking advantage of the opposite passivity. To close the match, and after Rafa Marín was sent off for a foul inside the penalty area, Samu, who had suffered the foul, completed the rout.
But let’s look at the notes for this match:
Figure
Gabri Veiga He is, at this time, the great figure of FC Porto. For the second game in a row, he managed a goal and an assist and was instrumental in Porto’s first European victory of the season. In the middle he shot with a bang at the bar, in a huge display by the Spanish midfielder.
Surprise
Santiago Giménez He left the bench to help lead FC Porto to victory. Gabri Veiga served to make it 2-1 and even found Samu inside the area in the move that led to the penalty that would be converted by the Spaniard himself.
Disillusionment
Rafa Marin he wasn’t putting in the best performances and ended up blurring the paint with his unreasonable foul on Samu in the final stages of the match, which earned him a straight red card.
Coaches
Francesco Farioli
Complete display by FC Porto, who finally showed an eye-catching performance in Europe. The first part of the dragons had some good moments and others that weren’t so good. In the 2nd half, what we saw was a practically one-way game, with the Dragons creating several goal opportunities and achieving them.
Massimiliano Allegri
It is true that Napoli had a lot of casualties for this match, but that cannot be justified with the performance at Dragão. The Italians conceded two of the goals in practically the same way, both corners, and created little or no danger near Diogo Costa’s goal.
Arbitration
michael oliver He performed very competently and always decided well in his moves. Well helped by VAR.
