William’s wonder goal helps guide FC Porto to 4-0 win over Casa Pia as Dragons continue perfect start to season | OneFootball

A first-half masterclass from FC Porto was enough to see Francesco Farioli's side cruise to a 4-0 victory against Casa Pia AC, and walk away with their third consecutive league win this season. Porto have been outstanding over the first month of the campaign, but this was undoubtedly their best performance to date. Two goals from Borja Sainz, along with goals from William Gomes and Alberto Costa, were enough to see them join Sporting CP and Moreirense FC atop the Primeira Liga table, and ensured the fans at the Estádio do Dragão finished off their weekends with a smile on their face.

This was a lopsided affair from start to finish. Porto took charge early on and never reliquished control. Sainz will receive the plaudits after scoring twice, but this was a complete team performance. Victor Froholdt, William Gomes, Luuk de Jong, Alberto Costa and Zaidu Sanusi all had exceptional outings. Porto went into the game without Samu Aghehowa, but showed that they have plenty of depth in their frontline even without last year's top scorer.

For Casa Pia and manager João Pereira, it will be back to the drawing board. The Lisbon club showed some promising signs last weekend, recording a 2-0 victory over AVS. Pereira began this game with virtually the same side (defensive midfielder Iyad Mohamed replaced the injured Yassin Oukili), but this was a dismal display from the visitors. They were outplayed and outmatched against a Porto side that played some flowing football, and failed to work themselves back into the match after the opening goal.

First half blitz puts Farioli's Porto in driver's seat

It was an electric atmosphere at the Estádio do Dragão, and with a boisterous crowd on hand, both teams came out playing with pace and intensity. Pereira's 5-3-2 formation held firm and seemed to frustrate Porto over the first 20 minutes.

The first chance of the match fell to William in the sixth minute. The Brazilian turned his defender on the edge of the box to find some space, but his shot was fired right into the goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira. In the 14th minute, it was de Jong who nearly unlocked the match with a well-placed shot that forced another save out of the Costa Rican keeper.

Porto continued to press, and the breakthrough eventually came in the 20th minute. Porto's pressure paid off when Froholdt intercepted a pass down the right wing. The midfielder proceeded to race toward the penalty box and placed a low cross to Sainz, who connected perfectly, hitting it first time and leaving Sequeira with no chance.

The goal did little to slow down the speed of the game with both teams continuing to play at a feocious pace.  The second goal would surely be critical, and it took some brilliant individual play from William to double the home side's lead in the 26th minute. The Brazilian picked up the ball on the right side and started to manoeuvre his way into the center, dribbling past several defenders before finding enough room to curl a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner. It was an outstanding goal and one that set the crowd alight.

Porto weren't quite finished there. Next, it was Alberto Costa's turn to get on the scoresheet. The full back took advantage of Casa Pia’s inability to clear a corner, powering a right-footed shot through a crowd and into the left corner of the goal.

Pereira and his men would've been relieved to hear the halftime whistle. Porto had 12 shots in the first half and could have scored four or five if they had produced some better finishing.

Sainz's second-half strike quells any hopes of Casa Pia fightback

Unfortunately for Casa Pia, the second half was more of the same. Porto looked calm, composed and collected. They held on to possession and their defense rarely looked to be under threat.

Froholdt, in particular, was outstanding over his 58 minutes on the pitch. The 19-year-old was lively, energetic and relentless in the midfield, so much so that he even earned himself a yellow card in the 51st minute after some overzealous defending.

De Jong rocketed a shot over the goal in the 54th minute after latching onto a throw-in. Alberto missed a glorious opportunity to make it four when the ball dropped to him just outside the six-yard box after some fantastic buildup play from Froholdt on the right side of the box.

It came as no surprise when Porto recorded their fourth of the night. A sloppy back pass from defender Duplexe Tchamba allowed Sainz to break through from the halfway line. The former Norwich forward found himself with only the keeper to beat, and a powerful shot raced between Sequeira’s legs to seal any hopes of a Casa Pia comeback.

Perriera made some late changes, bring on Sebastián Pérez and Miguel Sousa late on, but over the final stages, it looked as if Casa Pia were simply trying to limit the damage.

Porto's resilient defense

The four-goal night was impressive from Porto's attackers, but credit needs to be given to the defense as well. It has been 270 minutes of league football and Porto are yet to concede a goal in the Primeira Liga. Farioli has his players pressing from the back and the constant pressure caused problems for Casa Pia.  The first goal came after the ball was given away down the touchline, and the fourth from a poor back pass from Tchamba, who was under pressure throughout the game. Overall, Diogo Costa wasn't tested in this game and hardly even touched the ball.

Sanusi was solid down the left wing, and the addition of veteran Polish defender Jan Bednarek has brought some experience to the backline. The real test will be next week when the Dragons travel to the Estádio José Alvalade to take on defending champions Sporting. In a hostile environment and against a talented Sporting team that has already scored 12 goals in three matches, it will be interesting to see if Porto can secure a fourth consecutive clean sheet, and maintain this outstanding run.

FC Porto: Diogo Costa, Alberto Costa (Zé Pedro, 74'), Nehuén Pérez, Jan Bednarek (Dominik Prpic, 74'), Zaidu Sanusi, Alan Varela, Gabri Veiga, Victor Froholdt (Stephen Eustáquio, 58'), William Gomes (Rodrigo Mora, 58'), Borja Sainz, Luuk de Jong

Casa Pia AC: Patrick Sequeira, Gaizka Larrazabal, Duplexe Tchamba, José Fonte, João Goulart, Fahem Benaissa (André Geraldes, 46'), Renato Nhaga (Sebastián Pérez, 75'), Iyad Mohamed, Korede Osundina (Tiago Morais, 58'), Jérémy Livolant (Miguel Sousa, 75'), Cassiano (Max Svensson, 46')

[1-0] Borja Sainz, 20’

[4-0] Borja Sainz, 67’