FC Porto beat FC Arouca 2-0 at home and is now the leader of the Portuguese League, two points ahead of Sporting, Santa Clara, and Marítimo. In a one-sided match that pitted the only two teams with two wins in the first two matchdays against each other, the National Champions dominated for the full 90 minutes and created enough chances to secure a wider margin, but the visiting goalkeeper stopped 10 of the 12 shots on goal by the Dragons and was only beaten by Gabri Veiga (67') and Borja Sainz (86').

Francesco Farioli started Alberto Costa and André Silva in place of Nehuén Pérez and Deniz Gül that had played in Vila do Conde, but the first chance of the night came from two players making their return to the lineup: William Gomes broke away, Pepê got open, and the visiting goalkeeper made the save. After that initial scare, the team coached by Vasco Seabra regrouped, and it wasn’t until past the half-hour mark that the next chance came, a long-range shot by Gabri Veiga that goalkeeper Arruabarrena once again deflected for a corner.

Three minutes later, in the 33rd minute, William Gomes regained possession in the final third, cut inside, and the Arouca goalkeeper kept the clean sheet with a great save. As the first half was drawing to a close, and in his 250th game for FC Porto’s first team, Diogo Costa simply used his gloves to calmly catch a header aimed right at him. Just before halftime, Victor Froholdt once again tested the reflexes of the FC Arouca goalkeeper with a header, getting a cross from Gabri Veiga.

Early in the second half, after Pepê shot over the bar, Alberto Costa headed the ball into the net after beating Arruabarrena to the ball, but the referee called a foul on the Portuguese defender and the tie remained. The National Champions were also persistent, continuing to search for a goal and seeing the crossbar deny Pepê the glory in the 57th minute.

In the 58th minute, William Gomes forced the opposing goalkeeper to stretch once again; in the 59th, a powerful shot by Jakub Kiwior found the back of the net, but João Pinheiro again disallowed the goal for offside. The 46,285 spectators who packed Estádio do Dragão only had to wait five more minutes: in the 64th minute, William Gomes broke away, set up the play, and Gabri Veiga finished at the far post, opening the scoring to the delight of the stands (1-0).

After another save by the goalkeeper who kept FC Arouca in the game, with Deniz Gül, Borja Sainz, and Inbeom Hwang already on the field, FC Porto came close to making it 2-0, but Arruabarrena stepped up once again to thwart the blue and white efforts. Borja Sainz redeemed himself shortly afterward and doubled the lead following an assist from Pepê (2-0). Before the final whistle, there was still time for Nehuén Pérez to replace Jan Bednarek and for Froholdt to come close to scoring again, but the visiting team was saved by the usual suspect.