By Melody Gross )
The Portistas chased Moreirense in the 8th minute, but they spent an hour chewing the game and did not content themselves with the Dragons until the final minutes.
One goal can change the game. This Saturday, in Dragao, FC Porto's first goal, in the eighth minute, along with the team's second shot and first real dangerous move, made what was expected to be a very difficult night easier – and there were signs of that in the half-hour that followed. .
In sixth place in the league, with only one defeat away from home (at Alvalade), Moreirense went to Dragao with a well-organized game plan: block the routes to their goal, and as soon as they won the ball back, they went on the attack relentlessly. He took the first shot through Allan in the 2nd minute but the plan failed as Wendell won 1-0. But even as he moved up the lines a bit, trying to become more pressing, he had a very good first half hour, not giving anything away to the Dragons and threatening several times with quick attacks, especially by Kodesang, on the right – the winger, who runs well forward but He didn't know how to run back to follow Wendell for the first goal, to be as good on the ball as he was when he ran…
But the goal changed the course of the match. With the advantage, the dragon felt less urgency to search for the target. He didn't need to shoot to chase down his opponent, he did so with a bow (in Francisco Conceicao's impressive post) and arrow (in Wendel's clearance at the far post just before the end of the first game). Then he continued to chew… Just half an hour later, in a one-on-one pass to Francisco Conceicao, with another arc, but with a shot, FC Porto created the danger again. He threatened again in the first half with a direct shot from Wendel after a misunderstanding by Moreirense's defense, but Kewen blocked it. But he didn't play well. He had problems penetrating the opponent's wall and was not very confident in defence, benefiting above all from weak definitions from Moreirense's more advanced men. But they were winning from the eighth minute, which reduced the team's strength.
Dead ball effectiveness
But if the Dragons were so tame in the first half, how can the 5-0 defeat be explained? With the conditions of the match. As the second half looked to be heading towards the same terrain as the first – and even before the clock had reached the 46th minute, Kodesang entered the penalty area to fire a left-footed shot past Diogo Costa.
The dragon hasn't started a fire yet, and is still chewing on small prey caught with a bow and arrow, but you don't need to play well to be effective at a set piece. Porto did it in the 60th minute, with a short corner kick, a cross from Alan Varela and a header from Evanilson, making it 2-0 with the home team's first shot of the second half.
Just then, yes, the dragon unleashed fire and magic. They took advantage of the defender disappearing, as if by magic – they were already struggling to create danger (the last shot they managed in the entire match was the one that opened the second half, at 46 minutes), and Moreirense also stopped defending. He tried to be bolder in attack, showed effort in the first hour and began to leave free spaces towards his goal.
In two quick attacks, Porto quickly reached the result – in the 69th minute, with a score of 3-0 from Galeño, after recovering the ball in the defensive midfield and a blue carpet extended by Moreirense, taking them away to the edge of the penalty area (and the final shot with the right foot was helped by a deflection in Marcelo); Three minutes later, 4-0 from Wendell, in another quick attack, collectively and from the right flank, with Joao Mario positioning the Brazilian full-back's double after Frimpong struggled to ask for help, due to the numerical shortage, without it. Arrived on time.
)
Moreirense was not satisfied with the space he gave to Porto's rapid attacks, and decided to complete the score, with Kewen feeding the ball to Alan Varela for the Argentine to score his first goal in blue and white.
The Dragons came out with a full belly, claiming their biggest win of the season, but really only caught fire in the final half-hour.