FC Porto begin Champions League campaign with defeat to Veszprém | OneFootball

FC Porto began their Champions League campaign with a defeat in Hungary, losing 36-28 to Veszprém HC. The Hungarian side, world runners-up and four-time national champions, benefited from a top-level performance by goalkeeper Emil Nielsen, who made 15 saves with a 36.59% save rate. For Porto, Guilherme Borges stood out as the top scorer with seven goals.

The Dragons made a poor start to the match. Turnovers in attack were quickly punished by the opponent’s speed, while Emil Nielsen proved to be a real wall between the posts. After 15 minutes, the Danish goalkeeper had already stopped six of the 11 shots he had faced, helping his team build a 10-5 lead. Carlos Martingo then called a timeout to give new instructions to his team.

Despite the changes introduced by the Porto coach, Veszprém held on to their lead until the final five minutes of the first half, when they were ahead 15-10. At that stage, the Hungarians lost some efficiency against FC Porto’s solid defensive organisation and the excellent display of Sebastian Abrahamsson, while also beginning to suffer exclusions. The blue-and-white side took full advantage of the moment and cut the gap to just one goal by halftime: 15-14. Abrahamsson had six saves, compared to Nielsen’s nine.

The second half once again began with some rushed attacking play from FC Porto, allowing Veszprém to reach 20 goals before the Portuguese side scored their first of the period (20-14). Carlos Martingo called another timeout, while Guilherme Borges scored his fifth personal goal. FC Porto responded and made things difficult for the hosts, pulling back to within three goals (23-20). However, the experience and quality of French internationals Nedim Remili and Hugo Descat, both of whom scored seven goals, ultimately proved decisive in the final 36-28 result.

The Porto delegation now travels directly to Lisbon, where they will face Benfica in a clássico scheduled for Saturday at 3:00 pm, live on Porto Canal.

Match sheet

VESZPRÉM HC-FC PORTO, 36-28 Champions League, Group A, Matchday 1 9 September 2026 Veszprém Arena, Hungary

VESZPRÉM HC: Mikael Appelgren and Emil Nielsen (gk); Thiagus Petrus, Ivan Martinovic (4), Hugo Descat (7), Ahmed Hesham, Patrik Ligetvári (1), Luka Cindrić (1), Nedim Remili (7), Yanis Lenne (1), Yehia Elderaa (3), Stefan Dodić, Dragan Pechmalbec (5), Máté Gáncs-Peto (5), Ahmed Adel (1) and Bence Imre (1)Coach: Xavier Pascual

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