Francisco Moura returns against Rio Ave, could win Farioli’s trust | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli received good news for Sunday’s match against Rio Ave: after a hard-fought victory over Nacional at Choupana, he will be able to count on Francisco Moura again at Estádio do Dragão.

Zaidu fell short in the duel with the islanders, failing in several aspects of FC Porto’s game, so the return of the Portuguese full-back is seen as an added value for the Italian coach.

Porto fans have long memories, and it won’t be easy to forget Francisco Moura’s childish mistake in the Clássico against Sporting, which ended up allowing Luis Suárez to equalize on the rebound from a penalty committed by the number 74 of the blue and whites.

That 1-1 draw left a mixed feeling, especially since the ‘cheeky little hand’ of the left winger prevented the lead from being seven points instead of the current four, although in the end, it was the lesser evil compared to the risk of the gap being reduced to just one point.

Francisco Moura will therefore have to show his best version to regain the trust of the blue and white fans and of Francesco Farioli, especially since competition for the position is limited after Jakub Kiwior’s injury and Zaidu’s current poor performance.

Redemption with an eye on the Clássico… twice over

Francisco Moura now has only two games to build an ‘arc of redemption’ that will leave him fully confident for the series of upcoming Clássicos.

This Sunday, against Rio Ave, and then next Friday against Arouca, both at Estádio do Dragão, he will have the opportunity to cement his place in the starting lineup with an eye on the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals against Sporting at Alvalade – the perfect occasion to try to redeem himself for the mistake that affected the I Liga title race.

Afterwards, there will be another Clássico away at Estádio da Luz, for the 25th round of the league, against Benfica, just five days after the first leg of the Cup semi-final.

To close out this demanding sequence, FC Porto will also face the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 away from home, where Francisco Moura will have to be at his peak physically and mentally to last as long as possible without making mistakes that could prove costly for the Dragons.

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