Farioli racks up 19 wins in 23 games, cements FC Porto's lead | OneFootball

FC Porto’s season has been exemplary, except for the early elimination from the League Cup, which prevented their presence in the final four. In the league, the Dragons are leading by a wide margin, and the recent home victory over Estrela da Amadora (3-1) last Monday confirmed FC Porto’s best ever points percentage (95%) in the Primeira Liga, according to Playmaker.

The work of Francesco Farioli is thus starting to bear fruit after a very turbulent 2024/25 season at Estádio do Dragão, which resulted in a succession of coaches, with Vítor Bruno and Martín Anselmi unable to reverse the team’s poor performance.

The Italian coach joined FC Porto last summer with the ambition of putting the blue and white badge back on the path to titles. Boosted by the biggest transfer window ever, as announced by André Villas-Boas, the squad has racked up 19 wins in 23 matches played just days before the end of the 2025 calendar year.

In addition to those nearly twenty victories, FC Porto has recorded only two defeats—none of them in the Primeira Liga—and two draws, one of which was against Benfica (0-0).

In total, Farioli has a win rate of 82.6%, a percentage that could still change by the end of the year, as FC Porto has three more matches scheduled—Famalicão, for the Cup, and Alverca and AVS, in the league.

The Ajax nightmare grows more distant

Since he was first linked with FC Porto, Farioli’s career has been scrutinized, with particular attention to how, last season, Ajax let the Dutch title slip away. However, the numbers achieved at FC Porto are, so far, much more favorable and are bringing the 36-year-old coach closer to success, distancing him from the Dutch nightmare.

Looking back a year, between the end of July and December 2024, Farioli’s Ajax recorded 21 wins, five defeats, and four draws in 30 games. That translated to a win rate of 70%, a figure clearly lower than what he is currently achieving at FC Porto.

Increasingly integrated in Portugal

As he brings FC Porto closer to reclaiming the title, which has eluded the Dragons since 2021, Farioli is also consolidating his adaptation to Portugal.

Recently, the Italian coach has started accepting questions in Portuguese, stating that he understands most journalists, although he is not yet ready to communicate fluently in the language.

Farioli already uses some Portuguese expressions in press conferences and, last Monday, the Italian coach was also caught singing “Filhos do Dragão,” FC Porto’s iconic chant, moments before kickoff against Estrela da Amadora.

It remains to be seen whether FC Porto will be able to maintain the pace of this first half of the season in 2026. Farioli has requested reinforcements to prolong the winning cycle, while André Villas-Boas will maintain a strict stance regarding the demand to win titles.

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