Futebol Clube do Porto Futebol SAD : Cloud seven

April 16, 2022 10:28 PM FC Porto beat Portimonense (7-0) with Mehdi Taremi responding to the critics with a hat-trick

The almost 50 thousand fans that went to Estádio do Dragão had an unforgettable Easter Saturday. In the match at home against Portimonense, for matchday 30 of the championship - the 58th consecutive undefeated match - FC Porto scored seven goals against a team with eleven players, didn't concede any goal and increased the lead over Sporting, second in the table, to nine points, just before the Lisbon derby. Mehdi Taremi, with another great performance and another hat-trick, was the man of the match, to the delight of the blue and white fans, and to the despair of Portimonense (and others).

With Evanilson replacing João Mário as the only change in comparison to the team that won in Guimarães, the trend of the match was set early on. From the first warning made by Fábio Vieira - three minutes in - to the 1-0, FC Porto had the ball almost 80% of the time and pushed Portimonense back until breaking the defensive barrier set up by the opponent, in a counterattack played in the middle that ended at the feet of Fábio Vieira. On the left wing, the left-footer passed to Mehdi Taremi, who controlled the ball and scored in a fluid move, then celebrating in style. Before the half hour mark, in a corner-kick that caused havok in the small area, Marko Grujic made it count and the 2-0 was set. Five minutes later, Otávio was pushed in the back in the area and, when called to the penalty spot, Taremi scored his second goal. The 4-0 came shortly after and it was textbook football: the team started the play from the back, with great team involvement and Evanilson scored his first of the evening.

With Otávio (in risk of being banned from the next match) and Zaidu out, replaced by Francisco Conceição and Wendell, the second-half started with Mehdi Taremi's hat-trick, silencing the critics and showing, once again, the skills that make him one of the great strikers in Europe. The sixth goal of the evening was made in Olival and was scored by the captain. Jumping above everyone else, Pepe headed the ball and placed it at the far post before dedicating the goal to Eduardo Braga, a member of the medical staff who recently lost his father. The scoreboard was closed 60 minutes, with Evanilson finishing a play that also counted on Taremi and Francisco Conceição, after the ball hit the post. With 30 minutes still left to play, Sérgio Conceição used up all his substitutions and sent in Fábio Cardoso, Eustaquio and Toni Martínez to replace Pepe, Vítor Ferreira and Mehdi Taremi. Having secured their 26th Champions League appearance, next there is the second leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals (Thursday, 20h15).

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