Rio Ave 0-3 Porto - Gabri Veiga stars in Vila do Conde as Porto make it six straight in the Primeira Liga | OneFootball

Porto won a succession of early corners and it was from that avenue that they scored in the 4th minute. Gabri Veiga whipped the ball in to Pablo Rosario who guided it past Cezary Miszta.

Samu flashed an effort wide before making it 2-0 in the 13th minute. The goal came from another corner, Rio Ave's amateurish defending leaving Samu free at the back post where got above Georgios Liavas and headed the ball into the net.

The hosts had a brief spell of pressure before the break, their best chance falling to Brandon Aguilera who saw his fierce strike slam into Jakub Kiwior and sail away from goal.

The Dragons put the result beyond doubt seven minutes after the restart when Pepê played the ball over the top to Veiga who brought it down and found the top corner.

Samu forced a save from Miszta and Borja Sainz hit the bar as the floodgates threatened to open. Rodrigo Mora replaced Veiga and fired wide, Zaidu Sanusi coming off the bench and going close in the 76th minute.

Porto controlled the remainder of the contest, the final opportunity coming when Mora threaded the ball through to Borja Sainz who shot straight at Miszta.

Six from six

The victory in Vila do Conde was the seventh time that Porto have started the Primeira Liga with six straight wins. They have won the title on five of those six occasions and they are on track to return to the top of Portuguese football in May.

Francesco Farioli’s side were gifted the first two goals in the opening 13 minutes due to Rio Ave’s inability to defend corners. It was always going to be a difficult task for the hosts to get back into the contest, Porto’s class and composure coming to the fore.

Nehuén Pérez’s long term injury has opened the door for Jakub Kiwior to partner Jan Bednarek in central defencet. The Polish internationals have a great understanding and their combination could go a long way in Porto continuing to shut down opposition defences.

Veiga came back into the starting side at the expense of Rodrigo Mora and the Spaniard justified his inclusion with a man of the match performance.

Farioli brought off Alan Varela at half-time due to the midfielder picking up a minor calf injury. The Italian manager used the opportunity to give Pablo Rosario, Veiga, Samu and Pepê an early bath and hand 21-year-old Ángel Alarcón his first team debut, Farioli's sights set on Porto's Europa League debut in Salzburg.

Rio Ave manager Sotiris Sylaidopoulos attempted to inspire his side before the game when he said “It's not about stopping Porto, it's about what we can do. We have the tools and weapons to hurt Porto.”

He couldn’t have been more wrong, his side ending the match with 0.18 expected goals and Diogo Costa largely a spectator.