Deniz Gul hits 50 games for FC Porto, but struggles to finish when starting | OneFootball

The afternoon at Choupana marked a milestone in the blue and white career of Deniz Gul. The Turkish international started for the first time in this edition of the league, in a match that was his 50th appearance for FC Porto – and only the 12th time he was in the starting eleven. He had never scored when starting, and against Nacional, he had a discreet performance in a match where the Dragons lost some of their usual fluidity in the central play, an area where Gul usually stands out by serving midfielders and wingers.

This season, the forward's four goals have always come off the bench: in the 4-0 win against Arouca, the 2-1 win over Moreirense, the 3-0 against Sintrense, and the 1-1 draw with Viktoria Plzen. Last season, he also only scored twice, again as a substitute, a persistent trend in 2025/26, always in the shadow of

In Madeira, Farioli presented a more open attack down the flanks and less focused on short passing between the lines, a solution that reduced the space for Gul to operate, against a Nacional side that neutralized him effectively. The win was important in the title race, but FC Porto had one of the worst expected goal percentages in the League, in a match that was uninspired offensively, with the Turk being replaced in the 73rd minute by Moffi.

Moffi is already lurking

Will Deniz Gul be able to keep his starting streak when Rio Ave comes to town? That was the goal when he arrived at FC Porto, after making his mark with Sweden’s U21s, and even with the fans dedicating a song to him.

Everything also depends on the performance of Terem Moffi, whose appearance in Madeira showed signs of physical recovery and confidence. The Nigerian has personal and professional reasons to prove his worth, after a turbulent departure from Nice, where he faced intense protests from fans in November.

At Dragão, he was reunited with Francesco Farioli, a coach he knows well and who advocated for his loan signing. The serious injury to Liga), the top Porto scorer with 20 goals (13 in the League), reinforced the need to strengthen the attack in the winter transfer window.

With Luuk de Jong absent for months, Farioli needs an attacking reference who combines game reading and a nose for goal – qualities that could allow Gul to re-emerge, after his arrival from Hammarby IF in the summer of 2024 for 4.5 million euros.

The season still includes the league, the Cup and the Europa League – three stages where the Turk can rewrite his story at Dragão.

In a demanding competitive context, Gul knows that just linking up play is no longer enough: he needs to turn his quality into numbers, or risk seeing Moffi definitively take his place. The match against Rio Ave could be the turning point for a forward who has been patient, but now must assert himself. In an FC Porto without Gul every wasted chance brings Gul closer to the wrong side of history.

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