Farioli effect: Porto earn 16 more points with same 49 goals | OneFootball

The round in which the top four faced each other did not change the standings in the title race in terms of points, but it left FC Porto with even more reasons to be satisfied. Francesco Farioli’s team now has 66 points—four more than Sporting—as a result of a remarkable improvement of 16 points compared to this stage last season, when they were in third place and had already lost any chance of becoming champions. They have achieved 21 wins in this campaign, compared to 15 in the previous season.

The transformation has been profound, and interestingly, the Italian coach managed to “resurrect” FC Porto without increasing their attacking output. With the two goals at Luz, Porto reached 49 goals—only the fourth-best tally in the league—exactly the same number of goals they had in 2024/25. In short, Farioli has earned many more points with the same number of goals.

The key difference lies in defensive solidity: the team has conceded half as many goals as they had a year ago. In the four big matches of the previous season, FC Porto conceded 11 goals—more than in the entire current league campaign. Last season, the Dragons were thrashed by Benfica 1-4 on two occasions and defeated at Alvalade 0-2, with their best result being a home draw with Sporting. Under Farioli, they have not lost any of the biggest encounters, collecting six points—five more than in the previous season.

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