Friendly against Farense: Thiago Silva started alongside Bednarek | OneFootball

FC Porto concluded their training camp in the Algarve yesterday with a 2-0 victory over Farense, from Liga 2. The friendly served as preparation for the Portuguese Cup quarter-final classic against Benfica, scheduled for next Wednesday at Estádio do Dragão. Pepê opened the scoring in the 20th minute and Rodrigo Mora sealed the result in the 80th.

Thiago Silva, the blue and whites' first winter signing, started alongside Bednarek, who played as right center-back. The unavailability of Francisco Moura, due to a left adductor injury, led Farioli to try out an alternative defense, with Martim Fernandes at right back and Kiwior on the left. Kiwior, formerly of Arsenal, could be an option for the game against Benfica if Moura does not recover in time.

Thiago Silva enjoyed a holiday in Brazil after ending his spell with Fluminense and arrived at the training camp in excellent physical condition, thus justifying his inclusion from the start against the Algarve side. The defender's last official match dated back to December 14, in the Brazilian Cup against Vasco da Gama. He finished 2025 with 46 matches played, four goals, and one assist. After the victory in the Algarve, the team returned to Invicta and is enjoying a day off today; training resumes tomorrow with full focus on the decisive clash with Benfica.

Diogo Costa was not used in the match against Farense. Farioli rested the goalkeeper and handed the goal to Cláudio Ramos, the usual backup for number 99. The situation of the starting goalkeeper will continue to be closely monitored, but there are no major concerns anticipated.

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