FC Porto: 5-point lead after 13 games means title this century | OneFootball

In the duel with Tondela, FC Porto has the opportunity to open up a five-point lead over Sporting at the close of the 13th matchday. To do so, they need to win—something they have done regularly in the league, where they have recorded 11 victories and just one draw. This will be the first clash between Italian coaches in the Portuguese competition—Cristiano Bacci, 50 years old, and Francesco Farioli, 36, are practically neighbors. The coach of the Beirões was born in Viareggio, just over 62 kilometers from Barga, the hometown of his Porto counterpart.

No team wins the title as early as the 13th matchday, but this century, the Dragons have shown an interesting pattern: whenever they reached this stage with a lead of five or more points, they ended up becoming champions. It’s not a frequent phenomenon. In this millennium, only José Mourinho, Jesualdo Ferreira—twice—and André Villas-Boas managed to achieve a five-point or greater lead after just 13 league matches.

Starting with the most recent and well-remembered example among Porto fans: in 2010/2011, under the command of André Villas-Boas, the Dragons reached the 13th matchday with 35 points, eight ahead of Benfica, in a 30-match championship.

That season, FC Porto completed the campaign unbeaten, with 27 wins and three draws—an exemplary run that ended with the title, 17 points ahead of Benfica.

The decisive moment came on April 3, 2011, when Porto beat Benfica 2-1 at Luz, with goals from Guarín and Hulk. The celebration was marked by the stadium lights being turned off and the sprinklers on the pitch being activated.

Further back, in 2007/2008, with Jesualdo Ferreira at the helm, FC Porto reached the 13th matchday with 35 points and an impressive 10-point lead over Benfica, also culminating in a league title. In the previous season, 2006/2007, with Jesualdo in charge, FC Porto had a five-point lead over Sporting at the 13th round and, after a fierce battle until the end, were crowned champions by just one point over the Lions.

The 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 seasons, under José Mourinho, are also emblematic. In the first of those seasons, FC Porto reached the 13th matchday with a seven-point lead over Benfica and secured the title; in the following season, the Dragons had a five-point lead over Sporting at the 13th matchday and once again lifted the national champions trophy.

With an impeccable run so far, Francesco Farioli aims to add his name to this gallery of the club’s notable coaches. However, let’s remember: no team is automatically champion at the 13th matchday. Still, reaching this stage with a five-point lead has proven to be a very favorable factor, especially for FC Porto…

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