Sporting 1-2 FC Porto: William Gomes screamer wins derby, Dragons lead | OneFootball

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

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 area. Sporting reduced the deficit through an own goal by Nehuén Pérez.

The blue and white team now has 12 points out of 12 possible, 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

Gabri Veiga's last-minute injury led Rodrigo Mora to the FC Porto starting eleven, his first start this season, amid ongoing speculation about his transfer to Saudi Arabia. For the lions, Kochorashvili filled the spot left by the injured Morita in midfield.

While Alvalade was singing loudly ‘The World knows that…’, from the FC Porto bench, there was almost a shout for a goal at 12 seconds. In 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, 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 by Suárez, which scared Diogo Costa, and a pressed shot by Trincão after Bednarek lost the ball in the area were the best offensive plays by the two-time 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 constructed 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 offensive midfielder's shot went over. Still before the break, Geny Catamo fell in Porto's area in a play with Francisco Moura, but referee João Gonçalves allowed play to continue. VAR did not signal any infraction.

Sporting returned from the break eager to reverse the result.

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

Lion pressures, 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, who always found a free man. The subdued Rodrigo Mora made way for Pablo Rosário, a new signing, and Francisco Moura was replaced by Zaidu.

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

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

Soon after, FC Porto extended the lead to 2-0, at 64 minutes, in 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 Nehuén Pérez, in an own goal, 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 in Alvalade.

Farioli saw Sporting grow again and his options lose intensity. He placed Gul as a right winger, brought on Prpić for defense, playing with a back five, keeping only Gul and Samu up front. 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 opted to turn to the other side.

Four games and four wins for FC Porto, who conceded the first goal of the season. The blue and white team leads the I Liga alone with 12 points, with only SC Braga still able to match them in first place.

This was Sporting's first defeat in the I Liga and the second overall this 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.