FC Porto restored this Monday, at Estádio do Dragão, the difference of six points ahead of Sporting, closing the 28th round of the I Liga with a 3-0 victory over Santa Clara, victim of the inspiration of Fábio Vieira, who signed an “encore”.
The end of the day offered FC Porto the possibility of adding two chapters to the history of the championship and Sérgio Conceição, which the “dragons” fulfilled perfectly. But equaling the record of 56 unbeaten games in the league, set by John Mortimore’s Benfica in 1977-78, or surpassing the numbers of Artur Jorge as the club’s second most successful coach (187) were mere details of the main plan. : restore the advantage of six points for the second place, leaving the third 15 away.
To carry out this task, against a Santa Clara that had only lost against Sporting (League Cup) and Benfica (championship) in the last 12 games, Sérgio Conceição bet on the same eleven that won the derby Porto, in Bessa, decided by Fábio Vieira.
With Taremi worn out by the trips to represent Iran, at a time when Ramadan is celebrating, Fábio kept his title and ability to decide, this time doubling, with a decisive “bis” (38 and 41′) to end a first half of some uncertainty.
Returning to a house where he spent a decade, eight years as an athlete and two as a coach, Mário Silva was deprived of Anderson Carvalho and Cryzan, having dispensed with Morita, having returned from the selection.
FÁBIO VIEIRA DE FOOT HOT ????@FCPorto #sporttvportugal #LIGAnaSPORTTV #ligaportugal #ligaportugalbwin #fcport #FCP #cdsantaclara #Saint Clara #FCPCDSC #FabioVieira pic.twitter.com/xHXv4CO63h
— SPORT TV (@SPORTTVPortugal) April 4, 2022
The Azoreans still tried to disguise these gaps with a homogeneous device, geared towards defensive missions, without abdicating attacking commitments.
But Porto’s high turnover, with Otávio inventing spaces and Pepê creating imbalances, left Santa Clara in a very precarious position of balance and that only didn’t see compromised earlier because Pepê wasted a flagrant opportunity and enough to pull the rug from the Azores.
About to retire to the changing rooms without a goal, FC Porto found in a studied move the formula to beat Marco. Vitinha took a free kick punishing Pepê and Fábio Vieira’s left foot made the difference. The same foot would transform, three minutes later, a mistake by Mansur in the second goal of the night, putting FC Porto safe from an end of nerves like that of Bessa.
Even so, even after a strong start in the second half, with a shot by Vitinha to clear the bar and a goal invalidated by Pepe, FC Porto had to manage the opponent’s reaction together with some problems that forced them to scratch important stones such as Matheus Uribe and João Mario.
Santa Clara gritted their teeth and, with the substitutions, took the lead to force Diogo Costa to shine in FC Porto’s goal. However, contrary to what happened in the previous round, the white and blues always kept the reins of the game in their hands, ending up definitively resolving the issue with Zaidu’s goal (84′), completing Galeno’s bid.
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