FC Porto beat RC Deportivo 3-1 after comeback in A Coruña | OneFootball

FC Porto beat RC Deportivo 3-1 in a friendly played during the international break. Despite having eight injured players and many others away on international duty, the team coached by Francesco Farioli came back from an early deficit against the seventh-placed side in La Liga. Borja Sainz scored in the 60th minute, and André Silva netted a brace in the 64th and 90th.

With more than 30 players from the first team and B team unavailable, Farioli handed the first minutes to new signings Chris Smalling and Souza, while also naming 19-year-old midfielder Tiago Silva in the starting XI after his impressive start to the Youth League. The Galician side opened the scoring almost immediately, taking advantage of a misplaced pass in Porto’s defense. Samu, back in the starting lineup after seven months out, still tried to respond.

As the first half went on, the Dragons took greater territorial control. In the 25th minute, Alan Varela struck the post with a long-range effort. Then, in the 36th, Alberto Costa came close to equalising when he headed a free-kick delivered by Pepê from the left, but Deportivo’s goalkeeper pulled off a sharp save and kept it at 1-0 until half-time.

After the restart, João Teixeira, Gabriel Mec and André Silva came on for Tiago Silva, William Gomes and Samu. Shortly afterwards, Chris Smalling also saw the post deny him an equaliser. On the hour mark, Pepê set up Borja Sainz, who lifted the ball over Leo Román to level the score.

After Chris Smalling, Alberto Costa and Pepê went off, B team players Luís Gomes, Yoan Pereira and Kauê came on. Soon after, Gabriel Mec combined with Souza, who crossed for André Silva to finish first time and complete the turnaround. In the closing stages, Tiago Ferreira and Gabriel Veron replaced Souza and Borja Sainz. In the penultimate minute, André Silva scored again, this time with a shot from outside the box, sealing the 3-1 result.

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