Farioli racks up 19 wins in 23 matches, cements FC Porto’s lead | OneFootball

FC Porto's season has been exemplary, except for the early elimination from the League Cup which prevented their presence in the final four. In the championship, the Dragons lead prominently and the recent home victory over Estrela da Amadora (3-1) last Monday confirmed FC Porto's best ever point percentage (95%) in the Primeira Liga, according to Playmaker.

The work of Francesco Farioli is starting to bear fruit after a very turbulent 2024/25 season at Estádio do Dragão, which resulted in a succession of coaches, with Vítor Bruno and Martín Anselmi unable to reverse the team's poor performance.

The Italian coach joined FC Porto last summer with the ambition of putting the blue and white emblem back on the path to titles. Boosted by the biggest market ever, as announced by André Villas-Boas, the squad has a record of 19 wins in 23 matches played just days before the end of the 2025 calendar year.

Besides these nearly two dozen victories, FC Porto recorded only two defeats – none in the Primeira Liga – and two draws, one of which was against Benfica (0-0).

In total, Farioli has a win rate of 82.6%, a percentage that can still vary until the end of the year, as FC Porto has three more games scheduled – Famalicão, for the Cup, and Alverca and AVS, in the championship.

The nightmare at Ajax becomes more distant

Since being linked to FC Porto, Farioli's career has been scrutinized, especially regarding how Ajax let the title slip away in the Netherlands last season. However, the numbers achieved with FC Porto are, so far, much more favorable and bring the 36-year-old coach closer to success, distancing him from the Dutch nightmare.

Going back a year, between the end of July and December 2024, Farioli's Ajax had 21 wins, five losses, and four draws in 30 games. This translated to a win rate of 70%, a percentage clearly lower than currently recorded by FC Porto.

Increasingly integrated in Portugal

As he brings FC Porto closer to reclaiming the title, which has eluded the Dragons since 2021, Farioli is also consolidating his adaptation to Portugal.

Recently, the Italian coach has started accepting questions in Portuguese, stating he understands most journalists, although he is not yet ready to communicate fluently in the language.

Farioli already uses some Portuguese expressions in press conferences and, last Monday, the Italian coach was also caught singing “Filhos do Dragão,” an emblematic chant of FC Porto, moments before the kickoff against Estrela da Amadora.

It remains to be seen if FC Porto can sustain the pace of this first half of the season in 2026. Farioli has requested reinforcements to prolong the winning cycle, while André Villas-Boas will maintain a strict stance on the demand for winning titles.

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