FC Porto beaten by Aves SAD (3-1) in first game after title win | OneFootball

FC Porto slipped on their trip to AVS in their first match after being confirmed as Primeira Liga champions, in the 33rd round clash played this Sunday afternoon.

The final score in this meeting between bottom and top was 3-1, with an unexpected protagonist emerging in Vila das Aves, in a game where the Dragons’ Italian coach Francesco Farioli made several changes to the starting XI and even handed out a debut during the 90 minutes.

In a balanced opening in terms of chances, AVS delivered on the promise made by João Henriques in the pre-match press conference for this clash between opposite extremes, looking to make life difficult for the national champions, just as they had already done against Sporting.

The already relegated side rolled up their sleeves and ended up being the first team to celebrate in Trás-os-Montes, after Brazilian midfielder Roni opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.

Until half-time, there were no more chances in Vila das Aves, with FC Porto ending the first half goalless and also without a single shot on target, despite the nine attempts recorded in the opening 45 minutes.

The second half did not begin in the best way for the team leading the match, as FC Porto came out flying in heavy rain. In the 53rd minute, Borja Sainz produced an excellent individual move down the left side of the Dragons’ attack and ended up dinking the ball over Adriel.

The Spaniard was already preparing to celebrate his goal, but Deniz Gul ended up celebrating it for him by diverting the ball on the line and ‘stealing’ the precise finish from the former Norwich City man.

The equaliser, however, did not last long, because AVS still had a ‘gem’ in store: Roni, who had already scored the first goal of the game, produced a piece of art with an unstoppable shot from outside the box, five minutes after the equaliser.

Soon after, Farioli gave another player his debut as a national champion with the first team, as Tiago Silva came on for the first time this season after impressing for the blue and whites’ Under-19 and B teams.

But the celebrations would belong to João Henriques’ side, who scored once more in the match through Aderllan Santos in the 80th minute, following a set piece that left Cláudio Ramos all at sea.

Before the final whistle, FC Porto also saw Dominic Prpic, making his first start for the Dragons, sent off in the 90+2nd minute after a very hard challenge on Pedro Lima.

With this result, AVS made it five consecutive games without defeat and a second straight win, moving onto 20 points in the overall standings, after already having been relegated to the second tier of Portuguese football.

As for FC Porto, they saw their objective of matching the 91-point tally won by Sérgio Conceição in the 2020/21 season slip away, and can now finish the league with a maximum of 88 points.

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