After a dream summer window, André Villas-Boas and Farioli nailed December | OneFootball

FC Porto remains in contention on all three fronts at a stage when the season is entering its decisive stretch. Top of the league, with seven more points than Sporting – who still have a game in hand against Tondela – and Benfica, Francesco Farioli’s dragons have successfully come through a March that had looked tricky, largely thanks to a large squad that was carefully strengthened in the winter market.

If Oskar Pietuszewski’s performances speak for themselves, the contributions of Seko Fofana, Thiago Silva and Terem Moffi have also paid off for an FC Porto side that has managed to maintain a good level of consistency, despite the constant changes to the starting eleven made by Farioli.

Thiago Silva

Signed on a free transfer, Thiago Silva returned to a club he had already represented, on loan and also with the B team, in 2005. At 41, after fulfilling his wish to return to Fluminense, the experienced Brazilian centre-back accepted Villas-Boas’s challenge and signed until the end of the season.

So far, he has made eight appearances for the dragons and has shown that he remains a very consistent and effective centre-back, with special emphasis on his debut against Benfica. More recently, against Stuttgart at the Dragão, he played the 1000th match of his career.

Seko Fofana

The Ivorian midfielder arrived at the Dragão on loan from Rennes and has proved to be an important piece, even acting as a player capable of unlocking matches. He scored against Sporting and Sp. Braga – in the latter case securing all three points – and was also involved in the move that helped FC Porto beat Arouca.

Fofana has alternated between starting in the Europa League and coming off the bench in the Primeira Liga, providing guaranteed physical presence in Porto’s midfield.

Loaned until the end of the season, his stay at the Dragão currently seems unlikely due to his wages.

Oskar Pietuszewski

He is, by far, the winter signing with the biggest direct impact at FC Porto, with three goals and two assists in his first 10 games in a Porto shirt.

Pietuszewski overcame the initial doubts with very positive displays, establishing himself as a direct winger, capable of creating imbalance and with a strong eye for goal.

In the last five domestic matches – he is not registered for the Europa League – the young Pole only failed to make the difference in the defeat at Alvalade against Sporting in the Portuguese Cup.

Terem Moffi

Completing the group of winter signings is Terem Moffi, who has also been a useful option in Farioli’s FC Porto system. With Samu injured until the end of the season, the most advanced attacking role has alternated between the striker on loan from Nice and Deniz Gul.

Moffi has also been a starter in Europa League matches and scored in the first leg of the round-of-16 tie against Stuttgart, after already opening his account by sealing the final result against Arouca.

For example, Gul’s last goal dates back to 22 January, before Moffi had even arrived at the Dragão. It is a fact that clearly reflects the usefulness of the Nigerian striker in the absence of Samu, the team’s main goalscorer.

Villas-Boas once again reaps rewards from the market

After leading a major overhaul of the squad last summer, overseeing the biggest investment in FC Porto’s history, Villas-Boas seems to have got it right again in the winter window.

Victor Froholdt, Alberto Costa, Gabri Veiga, Borja Sainz, Jan Bednarek, Pablo Rosario and Jakub Kiwior are currently standout names at FC Porto.

On the other hand, Luuk de Jong suffered a serious injury and Dominik Prpic became even more limited with the arrival of veteran Thiago Silva. João Costa is the third goalkeeper in the first team and continues to justify the trust placed in him whenever he is called upon for the B team, while Yann Karamoh seems to have been the only less successful case, although he has already featured in two matches for the senior side.

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