This Saturday, FC Porto tied with Rio Ave at home (1-1), for matchday 24 of Liga NOS. In spite of the result, the team led by Sérgio Conceição remains in the lead of the championship, with 60 points, one more than Benfica.

Even knowing that the lead would not be in danger, given that Benfica tied in Setúbal (1-1), FC Porto went in with full power against Rio Ave, and, five minutes, the first goal opportunity was created: cross from Tecatito Corona and Sérgio Oliveira headed for a great save for Kieszek. But, when the blue and whites posed danger again, the goalkeeper was powerless to stop the shot from Mbemba, the first for the central defender in the championship.

In a corner-kick taken by Alex Telles, Danilo deflected to the near post and Nakajima was free in the far post, cross behind for Mbemba to score (18m). After Danilo aimed for the second, with a header that barely missed the goal (30m), Mehdi Taremi had a good play with Diogo Figueiras and made it count, beating Marchesín (32m). Just a few minutes after that, Nuno Santos had a great save (35m) and the tie lasted until the break.

The blue and white pressure continued to increase as the clock counted to 90, but the defensive organization of Rio Ave was difficult to counter, as there was no room to move near their area. Marega, who was tackled in the area, even if no one in the refereeing team saw it (55m), and Soares (62m) aimed for goal, but every occasion was missed. 78 minutes in, Estádio do Dragão celebrated the own goal scored by Aderllan Santos, but the VAR caught Soares offside in the play that would have meant the 2-1 for FC Porto.

In stoppage time, Marcano had a weak header and couldn’t make the best out of a free-kick taken by Alex Telles (90m+1). FC Porto did everything to win, but couldn’t do more than tie against Rio Ave. The victory eluded the Dragons by 3 centimetres.