Diogo Costa nears record with 19 clean sheets in all competitions | OneFootball

One of the main hallmarks of FC Porto under the guidance of Francesco Farioli is, without a doubt, the remarkable defensive cohesion displayed throughout the current season; in the league, the team boasts the best defensive record, having conceded only seven goals in 22 matches.

Bednarek, Kiwior, Alberto Costa, Martim Fernandes, and Thiago Silva are the cornerstones of this performance, but one name stands out even more: Diogo Costa. The goalkeeper has been crucial in keeping the goal intact, as he proved with a spectacular save at Choupana when the game was still tied, preventing Nacional from taking the lead.

By leaving Madeira without conceding, the captain of the Dragons equaled his personal record for clean sheets in a Portuguese League season—16—the same total he achieved in 2022/2023, when FC Porto was managed by Sérgio Conceição.

In the 2025/2026 season, the Portuguese international kept FC Porto’s goal unbreached against V. Guimarães (twice), Gil Vicente (twice), Casa Pia, Nacional da Madeira (twice), Rio Ave, Arouca, Benfica, Famalicão, Estoril, Tondela, Alverca, Aves SAD— a match in which he left injured at halftime, after the first half— and Santa Clara.

It is almost certain that this personal record will be surpassed before the end of the season, as there are still 12 league matches to play and the mark could fall as early as next Sunday, when they host Rio Ave, a team currently in a results crisis, without a win in their last five matches.

The importance of Diogo Costa goes beyond the 16 clean sheets in the league: he also remained unbeaten against Salzburg and Nice (Europa League matches) and against Benfica (Portuguese Cup), contributing to three significant victories in those competitions.

In total, the international, who recently renewed his contract with the Dragons and became one of the highest-paid players in Portugal, has accumulated 19 matches without conceding a goal for FC Porto—an impressive feat that highlights the consistency of a goalkeeper who is crucial in the fight for points throughout the league. Additionally, there were two more matches without conceding in the Portuguese Cup, against Celoricense (4-0) and Sintrense (3-0), in which Cláudio Ramos was the starter, as part of the goalkeeper rotation implemented by Francesco Farioli in the early stages of the competition; against Benfica, Diogo Costa returned to the starting lineup.

Diogo Costa has only conceded goals in the league against Sporting (twice), Moreirense, SC Braga, Estrela da Amadora, and Casa Pia—a very positive record for a player who adds a lot to the defensive sector of a team that is notoriously compact at the back.

Diogo Costa has displayed a high level in the country’s main competition and will, in all likelihood, be one of Portugal’s key figures at this summer’s World Cup, where he could further increase his value and potentially attract the interest of a major European club. It is worth noting that his release clause was reduced during the renewal process, dropping from 75 million euros to 60 million euros.

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