Alberto Costa and Francisco Moura take charge of Porto’s defensive flanks

In partnership with

Portal dos Dragões

·18 November 2025

Alberto Costa and Francisco Moura take charge of Porto’s defensive flanks

In search of “wings” for his project, Francesco Farioli has relied on the help of Alberto Costa and Francisco Moura. The two full-backs dominate the flanks of FC Porto’s defense and enter a new competitive cycle—now uninterrupted by international breaks—with renewed energy.

The former Juventus player is trying to regain the rhythm he had before his injury at the start of September: he had recorded four assists in the Dragons’ first four games this season, and then added another in Arouca at the end of September, after overcoming his muscle problem. As for the number 74, who is in his second season in blue and white, he aims to extend the good form shown in Famalicão before this month’s competitive break—against his former club, he set up Froholdt for the decisive goal and registered his first assist of the 2024/25 season; in terms of goals, he also scored his first in the away match at Arouca.

OneFootball Videos

In Alberto’s case, the start of the 2025/26 season was so promising that, despite not having registered any decisive passes since the 7th round of the league, the right-back remains at the top of the assists list for Farioli’s team, with five assists, matching Gabri Veiga. However, football isn’t just about numbers: the consistent performances of the number 20 have kept Martim Fernandes as an alternative, in a battle for the starting spot that, at the beginning of the season, promised to be one of the most interesting. Proof of this can be seen in Alberto Costa’s playing record over the past month: he only didn’t start the match against Utrecht, in the 4th round of the Europa League.

As they prepare for the match against Sintrense, scheduled for Saturday, both Alberto and Francisco Moura appear to be favorites for the full-back positions, despite Farioli’s tendency to rotate (see page 12). Both players have earned their place as candidates for Roberto Martínez’s options in the National Team, but the two FC Porto players were once again left out of the November call-up and have remained in Invicta under Francesco Farioli’s command since last Saturday—before that, the squad enjoyed five days of vacation.

Martim Fernandes and Zaidu, on the other hand, were called up by Portugal U21 and Nigeria, respectively, and will only report to their national teams after tomorrow, two days before the Portuguese Cup fixture. The final decision, as always, belongs to the FC Porto coach, who may favor the players who have spent more time working at Olival.

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