Ex-Benfica man smiles from afar at Nottingham Forest - Porto | OneFootball

Last night, another round of the Europa League took place, where Porto faced Nottingham Forest, featuring former Benfica player Morato. Against an opponent of their level, Francesco Farioli's team couldn't resist and ended up losing 2-0, dropping their first points in the competition.

Nottingham Forest, which saw its third coach of the season debut with a victory, left the former central defender of the "encarnados" out of the starting lineup, as he watched the match from the substitutes' bench. It should be noted that the Brazilian had been a starter in the last five matches for the English team, playing the full 90 minutes in four of them.

The Italian coach made some changes to the Dragons' lineup in response to the English team's strength in midfield; however, the changes did not have the desired effect, and Porto couldn't stand up to Forest. At halftime, the blue and whites were down 1-0, due to a penalty converted by Morgan Gibbs-White, following a foul by Jan Bednarek.

In the second half, with Morato watching the game from the bench, Benfica's rival continued to lack spark, and the lack of aggression ended up benefiting the hosts, who earned another penalty. At the 77th minute, Igor Jesus stepped up to beat Diogo Costa from the penalty spot, making it the final 2-0.

With this result, Porto suffered their first defeat of the season, ending a streak of 12 matches without losing. However, this was the second match where Porto dropped points, having already happened in the Clássico on October 5, in the draw against Benfica.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.