Pepê rolled out the red carpet as FC Porto eyes Aliados | OneFootball

On Sunday night, FC Porto returned to winning ways in the Primeira Liga with a 1-3 victory away at Estoril in the 29th round, maintaining a five-point lead over Sporting with five matches left in the championship.

The Porto side came into this match after two draws, against Famalicão (2-2) in the league and Nottingham Forest (1-1) in the Europa League, but responded authoritatively at Amoreira with a strong start that ultimately proved decisive in the final result.

Pepê opened the scoring in the 14th minute, before an own goal by Xeka in the 32nd minute gave FC Porto a 0-2 lead at half-time. In between, Deniz Gul also had a goal disallowed. Victor Froholdt added further comfort for Porto in the 72nd minute, while Begraoui, in the 78th minute, scored the consolation goal for the Lisbon side.

As a result, FC Porto remain entirely dependent on themselves to win the title, which they have not claimed since 2021/22. Up next, the Dragons host Tondela, Alverca and Santa Clara, in addition to away trips to Estrela da Amadora and AVS, who are already very close to relegation. The outlook is favourable: with matches against teams from the bottom half of the table, Porto keep the blue carpet rolled out for the celebrations at Aliados in May.

But let’s get to the ratings from this match:

Standout

Pepê scored for the first time in 2026 and justified his place in the starting lineup at Amoreira. Soon after, he set up Alan Varela, who shot wide, before delivering the cross that led to Deniz Gul’s disallowed goal.

Surprise

Gabri Veiga was one of the new faces in Farioli’s starting eleven and responded with a top-level performance. He played a decisive role in the move for the opening goal, which unlocked the match, and took the corner that led to Froholdt’s header before Xeka’s unfortunate deflection. He was a nightmare for the Canaries.

Disappointment

Xeka ends up being closely tied to the story of this match. He lost several duels and ultimately turned Froholdt’s header into his own net.

Managers

Ian Cathro:

Estoril are usually a team that plays good football, but they were unable to show it in this match. The Canaries actually started better, but FC Porto’s early goal disrupted the game plan of a side that never managed to find itself again. The late goal at least sparked a timid reaction from the Estoril team.

Francesco Farioli:

FC Porto produced one of their most convincing performances of the season in a clash they completely dominated. Porto started switched on and scored within the opening 15 minutes. They did not ease off until they had extended their lead. The more controlled tempo in the second half did not stop the Dragons from maintaining control of the match. A deserved win.

Refereeing

A good performance from the team led by Luís Godinho. They were right to disallow Deniz Gul’s goal, although there are still doubts over the analysis of the incident in which FC Porto appealed for a penalty on Victor Froholdt in the second half.

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