In front of over 39,000 fans at Estádio do Dragão, FC Porto got their first victory in this edition of the Europa League and moved 12 places up in the table. In addition to the rain, which was the protagonist for much of the 90 minutes, Tiago Djaló – on his debut in European competitions for the blue and whites and repeating the goal he had already scored in Amadora – and Samu, a forward who reached the fourth goal in three games and leads the ranking of the top scorers of the competition.

The day before, Vítor Bruno had asked for "maximum balance between attack and defence" and for the players to take "the ball away from an opponent, as they don’t feel comfortable chasing it", and that was exactly what FC Porto did on the pitch. With Diogo Costa, Francisco Moura, Nico González, Pepê and Samu back in the team, the Dragons countered the opponent’s strengths, with the German team only posing danger in set pieces in the first quarter of an hour.

Galeno responded in accordance 20 minute in, with a header to the net of the goal defended by goalkeeper Baumann, who was put to the test by Pepê 8 minutes later, in one of the best plays of the first half: in a lab direct free-kick, the Brazilian gave it to Moura, who left it to Varela to play again for the Brazilian international winger. The shot came out strong, but within reach of the goalkeeper.

With more and more offensive objectivity as time went by, the Dragons again threatened Samu, who forced the German captain to exit the goal line to reduce space to the forward. Bruun Larsen dribbled Tiago Djaló 43 minutes in and left the stands on alert with a shot to the bar, but there was still time for the first moment of celebration. Following a tackle by Nsoki on Pepê, Francisco Moura aimed the free kick to the far post, where Nico González jumped higher and headed at Djaló who, after controlling on his chest, shot with power and the ball went in next to the post (1-0).

Looking for the tie, the team from southwest Germany started to grow, gained more momentum and, 55 minutes in, Martim Fernandes chased Bruun Larsen and cleared the ball when the opponent was alone in front of Diogo Costa's goal. Seeing the  shift in momentum on the pitch, Vítor Bruno sent in Fábio Vieira to replace Iván Jaime (58m), but it was Pepê and Galeno who created another play: after Samu recovered the ball, the number 11 moved with speed and passed it to the number 13, who tried to return it, but the pass missed the target by a few centimetres.

Making use of the counter-attack, a favourite among Pellegrino Matarazzo's men, it was FC Porto who reached the second of the night. Fábio Vieira, helping in the defence, moved up from the area and Samu, powerful and with the determination that the fans expect, was faster than Stach, won the ball and, after a run, suddenly stopped as he had no more room to finish, dribbled his marker and shot with power for the goal, much to the excitement of the blue and white fans (74m). For lack of even more praise for the number 9, the stadium just chanted “that's Samu”.

Nehuen Pérez tested Baumann's reflexes and his partner in the defence Tiago Djaló left the match in pain, but received the applause of those at the stadium, as had already happened to Pepê and Samu. Without further changes in the result, the final whistle was the motto for a rain of applause to the team, who plays again on Monday, for the championship, with a trip to face AVS away (20h15).