Sporting 1-2 FC Porto: William Gomes stunner sends Dragons top | OneFootball

FC Porto temporarily took the lead in the Primeira Liga by winning the classic match against Sporting at Alvalade, in the 4th round of the competition.

After a goalless draw at halftime, the Dragons scored through Luuk de Jong and William Gomes, the latter with a curling shot from outside the box. Sporting reduced the deficit with an own goal by Nehuén Pérez.

The blue and white team now has 12 points out of a possible 12, handing Sporting their first defeat in the competition.

PHOTOS: The best of the Sporting-FC Porto classic in images

Rodrigo Mora starts for the first time

A last-minute injury to Gabri Veiga brought Rodrigo Mora into FC Porto's starting eleven for the first time this season, amid ongoing speculation about his transfer to Saudi Arabia. For the Lions, Kochorashvili filled the gap left by the injured Morita in midfield.

While Alvalade was loudly singing ‘The World knows that…’, FC Porto's bench almost shouted goal at 12 seconds. From the Dragons' kickoff, Luuk de Jong gained an aerial advantage, the ball went to Borja Sainz who, with his back to the goal, bicycle-kicked it, hitting the post, before it ‘died’ in Rui Silva's hands.

Apart from that play, Sporting had more possession and tried to break Porto's defense but struggled to create clear chances. A curling shot from Suárez, which scared Diogo Costa, and a blocked shot from Trincão after Bednarek lost the ball in the area were the best offensive plays from the defending champions.

The most dangerous chance came at 22 minutes: from a FC Porto corner, Francisco Moura deflected the ball off an opponent, leading to a three-on-one counterattack. Alberto Costa stopped the danger with a sliding tackle on Pedro Gonçalves' pass into the area.

On FC Porto's side, the wingers pressed intensely: William Gomes active on the right and Rodrigo Mora responding on the left. At 21 minutes, the Dragons built a play with Luuk de Jong shooting weakly, allowing Rui Silva to save.

At 35, Froholdt won rebounds in the area and shot at the side of the goal. The next minute, Rodrigo Mora left several opponents behind before a left-footed shot that went over.

Before halftime, Sporting created the best opportunity: Hjulmand, on the right, found Geny Catamo who served Pedro Gonçalves in the area, but the attacking midfielder's shot went over. Just before the break, Geny Catamo fell in Porto's area in a play with Francisco Moura, but referee João Gonçalves let play continue. VAR did not signal any infraction.

Sporting returned from halftime eager to reverse the result.

A failed pass from Diogo Costa was almost capitalized on by Kochorashvili, whose shot went over at 49. At 52, Luis Suárez shot over from inside the area after another play down Sporting's left flank. At 56, Trincão forced Diogo Costa into his first save of the night, with the goalkeeper punching away a long shot.

Lion presses, Farioli reacts, and Dragon responds

Sporting's strong start to the second half led Francesco Farioli to make changes. The midfield couldn't stop Sporting's transitions, which always found a free man. The subdued Rodrigo Mora was replaced by Pablo Rosário, a new signing, and Francisco Moura was substituted by Zaidu.

During Sporting's best period, Porto scored the first goal: a combination on the right between Froholdt, William Gomes, and Alberto Costa, with the Brazilian crossing to the full-back who, at the far post, offered an easy goal to Luuk de Jong at 61 minutes. The Dutchman just had to tap in to open the scoring with the blue and white jersey.

Rui Borges responded with Geovany Quenda, Conrad Harder, and Georgios Vagianidis replacing Fresneda, Kochorashvili, and Geny Catamo, with Sporting switching to two forwards.

Soon after, FC Porto extended the lead to 2-0 at 64 minutes, with a moment of class from William Gomes. He repeated the move he had done against Casa Pia: ball on his left foot, cutting inside, and a curling shot into the net.

With more attackers on the field, Sporting reduced the score at 75 minutes, through an own goal by Nehuén Pérez, after creating two dangerous plays by Mangas and Quenda. A cross into the area ended up hitting the Argentine defender and the goal, causing the first explosion of joy from the nearly 50,000 spectators at Alvalade.

Farioli saw Sporting grow again and his options lose intensity. He placed Gul as the right winger, introduced Prpić in defense, playing with a back five, keeping only Gul and Samu upfront. Borja Sainz, William Gomes, and Luuk de Jong were substituted.

The equalizer was close twice with shots from Luis Suárez, both saved by Diogo Costa. In the second, at 87, the goalkeeper made a monumental save.

In the eight minutes of added time given by referee João Gonçalves, FC Porto was closer to 3-1: Gul shot from outside the area and Samu had a play where he could have served Froholdt but chose to turn to the other side.

Four games and four victories for FC Porto, who conceded their first goal of the season. The blue and white team leads the Primeira Liga alone with 12 points, with only SC Braga still able to match them at the top.

This was Sporting's first defeat in the Primeira Liga and the second of the season, after losing the Portuguese Super Cup to Benfica.

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