FC Porto beat Benfica 3-1, confirm supremacy at the Dragão | OneFootball

As FC Porto and Benfica entered the pitch, a huge banner unfurled in the South Upper stand of the Estádio do Dragão proclaimed “supremacy”. The performance over the next 90 minutes confirmed the message: the national champions came out on top in the Liga’s seventh-round clássico, winning 3-1 and strengthening their lead, now holding a five- and six-point advantage over their Lisbon rivals.

Francesco Farioli brought in Martim Fernandes and Victor Froholdt in place of Francisco Moura and Inbeom Hwang, who had started in Rio Maior. In the 18th minute, Pablo Rosario was crucial in clearing Bah’s effort off the line, before Gabri Veiga, from a free-kick in the 26th minute, sent out a warning.

The atmosphere heated up five minutes later. Jan Bednarek picked out Pepê on the left flank and the winger, after cutting inside, found Gabri Veiga behind the Benfica defence. One-on-one with Samuel Soares, the midfielder made no mistake and sent the 49,560 Porto fans in the stadium into raptures (1-0).

Lenglet, who had already been shown a yellow card, struck André Silva in the face and was sent off in the 34th minute. Shortly afterwards, Inbeom Hwang came on in place of Gabri Veiga. William Gomes then won the ball after a back pass from a Lisbon defender, but the goalkeeper managed to save the winger’s low shot.

FC Porto came back out after the break with a dominant approach. Alberto Costa surged down the right and set up Pablo Rosario to test the reflexes of Samuel Soares. Benfica equalised soon after (1-1), but the score was level only briefly. After once again receiving the ball from Jan Bednarek, Pepê drove through the middle and found Pablo Rosario, who picked out André Silva in the box. The forward left his marker behind with a subtle touch, and Victor Froholdt, arriving from deep, fired a low angled shot to restore the blue-and-whites’ lead (2-1).

Porto’s advantage grew before the hour mark. Without letting up, the blue-and-white side again worked their way into the opposition area and André Silva set up Inbeom Hwang, who had found space and guided the ball into the near top corner (3-1). In the 64th minute, only a fine save from Samuel Soares denied the Portugal international striker the goal he was looking for, after he had already provided two assists.

Francisco Moura and Borja Sainz replaced Martim Fernandes and William Gomes in the 68th minute. Later on, Jan Bednarek headed wide and left the Benfica goalkeeper rooted to the spot, but the ball drifted just past the post (78’). After seven months out, Samuel Soares and Oskar Pietuszewski returned to action to a standing ovation. Miguel Nogueira’s final whistle confirmed the win and blue-and-white supremacy (3-1).

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