Deniz Gul and Pepê dip in form as rivals stake their claim up front | OneFootball

FC Porto hosted Arouca and came out victorious with a 3-1 win last Friday, extending their lead over Sporting to four points—Sporting had beaten Estoril 3-0—and consolidating their isolated leadership in the Primeira Liga. However, it was a triumph achieved with much ‘suffering’.

The Dragons opened the scoring in the 24th round thanks to a ‘supersonic’ goal by Oskar Pietuszewski, just 13 seconds into the match. Arouca responded and Nais Djouahra equalized in the 70th minute, before William Gomes (converting a highly controversial penalty) and Terem Moffi, already in stoppage time, delivered the final blow to the result, in a comeback supported by precise shots.

The goals came from players who, until now, have had limited playing time under Francesco Farioli (the case of the Nigerian international is particular: he only arrived in January with reduced match fitness due to his situation at Nice), highlighting the low productivity of the usual starters.

The most evident example is Pepê, the fourth most used player in the squad (2,397 minutes, only behind Diogo Costa, Victor Froholdt, and Jan Bednarek), who has not registered any direct involvement in goals since January 26, when he assisted Martim Fernandes in the home win against Gil Vicente, 3-0.

Since then, Pepê has drawn a blank in matches against Rangers (3-1 win), Casa Pia (2-1 loss), Sporting (1-1 draw), Nacional (1-0 win), Rio Ave (1-0 win), and now against Arouca. To find his last goal, we have to go back to December 18, 2025, in the 4-1 thrashing of Famalicão.

Deniz Gul, on the other hand, has started the last three matches following the serious injury to Samu Aghehowa, but even with more minutes, he has not been more effective. This season he has only four goals in 29 games, with no assists; his last goal dates back to January 22, in a draw with Viktoria Plzen.

William Gomes, Oskar Pietuszewski, and Terem Moffi ‘bare their teeth’

The less productive period for Pepê and Deniz Gul takes on another dimension when you realize that their direct rivals for a starting spot have seized every opportunity to rise in the estimation of Francesco Farioli.

Since Pepê’s last direct involvement in goals, William Gomes has already tallied two goals and one assist, while Oskar Pietuszewski has scored one and provided another. The competition has intensified even further with André Miranda’s debut in the first team.

Borja Sainz missed the Arouca game due to family reasons; the Spaniard is also going through a difficult period, having not scored since his brace in the 3-0 win over Alverca on December 22.

As for Terem Moffi, he replaced the Turk in the last three matches and, in the clash with Arouca, scored his debut goal for FC Porto with his only shot on target—just as many as his rival managed in 64 minutes on the pitch.

Now it remains to be seen whether the Italian coach will make changes to the attacking line for the much-anticipated first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals against Sporting at Estádio José Alvalade, scheduled for Tuesday at 8:45 pm (Portugal mainland time).

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