FC Porto thrash Sanjoanense 11-4 at Dragão Arena | OneFootball

FC Porto offered the Dragão Arena crowd a luxurious start to the game against Sanjoanense, scoring seven goals in the first half and practically securing the match before halftime.

The team led by Paulo Freitas, who has been improving after a weak start, then extended the score, finishing with eleven goals—a number that could have been even higher. Sanjoanense quickly surrendered to the superiority of the hosts and left with only the merit of having scored four goals at the Dragão Arena.

Carlo di Benedetto and Gonçalo Alves together scored six goals—both achieving a hat-trick—and Rafa scored two. Hélder Nunes, Pol Manrubia, and Ezequiel Mena each netted one goal. Edu Lamas and Telmo were the only two out of FC Porto’s eight field players who didn’t score.

The Dragons’ feast began early, at the two-minute mark, with Carlo di Benedetto, and continued immediately—after João Pedro Pereira had sketched a reaction from Sanjoanense by equalizing at three minutes.

In two minutes, FC Porto took a comfortable lead (Gonçalo Alves, from a penalty, and Rafa), before Alex Mount reduced the deficit for the visitors. Before halftime, Porto scored again with Alves (a second penalty), Manrubia, and Di Benedetto, while Hugo Santos netted for Sanjoanense.

In the second half, Ezequiel Mena made it 8-3 just three minutes in, but FC Porto’s scoring pace eventually slowed: they added three more goals (Rafa, Hélder Nunes, and Alves’s third), with the visitors scoring again against Xavi Malián.

With this victory, FC Porto rises to fourth place, with 19 points, the same as HC Braga, but remains five points behind third-placed OC Barcelos, who still have a game in hand—a win in that match would put Barcelos ahead of Sporting (25), totaling 27 points. Benfica leads alone with 30 points, maintaining a three-point advantage over the Minho side if they confirm their favoritism against Sanjoanense in a home match rescheduled for January 14, 2026.

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