FC Porto beat Casa Pia 2-0 this Monday, in the game that ended the 12th round of the championship. On his 42nd birthday, Vítor Bruno shook off the pressure with two goals in four minutes: Fábio Vieira made it 1-0 in the 51st minute, Samu doubled the score in the 55th minute.
Without Alan Varela, suspended, Vítor Bruno, birthday boy of the day (42 years old), promoted the return of Fábio Vieira to the starting lineup, in relation to the team that drew (2-2) with Anderlecht, with emphasis on the call-up of Iván Jaime to the summary.
On the Casa Pia side, João Pereira made four changes in relation to the team that faced Chaves, with Sequeira, João Goulart, Telasco Segovia and Leonardo Lelo starting.
Visible nervousness
Still with the human frame composing itself at Dragão, due to a road accident, Galeno gave the warning in the first minute, after a great pass from Fábio Vieira, winning the first corner of the match. At 16' came Casa Pia's response, in a quick transition, with Livolant overtaking Eustáqui and shooting across, with Otávio deflecting it for a corner. At 22, it was Francisco Moura who crossed, with precision, weight and measure, but Samu headed just wide of the Lisbon team's goal. Two minutes later, the FC Porto striker was in the spotlight again, this time narrowly missing a cross from the opposite flank, from João Mário.
More FC Porto
After half an hour of play, a great opportunity for FC Porto, with a cross from Galeno and Nehuén Pérez appearing at the back post to provide a huge save to Patrick Sequeira. FC Porto was charging, João Goulart shined in the 34th minute, denying Samu the goal, before Galeno shot sharply and forced the Casa Pia goalkeeper to take another corner. At 38, it was a free kick, suffered by himself, that Fábio Vieira forced Patrick Sequeira to concede another corner.
In the 44th minute there was a new chill in Dragão, with whistles in the mix, in another counterattack, led by Cassiano, with Nuno Moreira shooting across the cross, scraping the post and even with blue and white deflecting for a corner. Already in the extra time period, Galeno kicked for Sequeira's defense and, at his insistence, the Brazilian winger kept asking for a penalty for Goulart's hand. Referee Hélder Malheiro listened to the VAR and ordered it to continue, blowing the whistle for half-time.
Breath(s) of relief
The second half started with no changes in both teams and with Fábio Vieira leaving the first warning, at 22 seconds, with a shot over the top. At 50' Galeno tested his aim, with a shot at Sequeira. A minute later, it was 1-0 for FC Porto. After Anderlecht, Fábio Vieira, called into the starting line-up, punished Kluivert's mistake, with the ball recovered by Nico González and an assist for the FC Porto midfielder to open the scoring at Dragão.
Four minutes later, 2-0 for FC Porto, on a counterattack, responding to the advance of Casa Pia's block. Samu played for Pepê, cleared himself and the Brazilian assisted the Spanish striker, who fired hard to extend FC Porto's lead in the 55th minute.
In the 62nd minute it was Otávio who came very close to making it 3-0: the FC Porto defender was full of confidence and shot hard at Sequeira's goal post.
Three in one sitting
Trailing 2-0, João Pereira made three substitutions in the 65th minute, removing Cassiano, Beni and Nuno Moreira to introduce Rafael Brito, Henrique Pereira and Svensson.
In the 72nd minute, Galeno came close to 3-0, after a bad pass from Patrick Sequeira. The Brazilian winger, however, was unable to finish in the best way, already inside the area.
Scare and management
Casa Pia, however, in the 77th minute, came very close to reducing the deficit. Leonardo Lelo won the corner and Tchamba, following the dead ball, kicked hard, with a header, for Diogo Costa to fly and deflect to the crossbar, in a huge save, maintaining the blue and whites' two-goal advantage.
Soon after, Martim Fernandes replaced João Mário, in the 78th minute, before Fábio Vieira fell to the pitch complaining, giving way to Vasco Sousa, who hadn't played since October, in the 79th minute. João Pereira responded, running out of changes in the 81st minute, with Miguel Sousa and Benaissa for Telasco Segovia and Leonardo Lelo, before Vítor Bruno replaced Gonçalo Borges in Galeno's place, in the 88th minute, with the forward seeing yellow for coming on early .
Within six minutes of added time, Vítor Bruno ran out of changes, with Namaso replacing Pepê, and at 90+4 Samu came close to scoring twice, with Patrick Sequeira shining but already offside. Closing the match, Vasco Sousa brought down Svensson at the edge of the area, he was shown a yellow card, Otávio was also booked in the formation of the wall and, on conversion, Svensson shot to a huge stretch by Diogo Costa.
With this victory, FC Porto holds second place, now with 30 points, three behind Sporting and two more than Benfica, who have one game less.
Flashscore man of the match: Fábio Vieira (FC Porto)
