Porto's chance to clinch championship

Porto welcomes Clube Desportivo Nacional Sunday evening in-front of the faithful at Estádio do Dragão. Jesualdo Ferreira's side can clinch the Liga crown should they win on Sunday or should Sporting lose to Vitória de Setúbal on Saturday.

Os Dragões will have a difficult test as Nacional is leaning towards a Europa League spot but a win could cap Manuel Machado's side remarkable year and pull them level with Benfica for a Champions League spot.

For the match Jesualdo Ferreira will be without the services of Lucho González, Nelson Benítez, Freddy Guarín and Rabiola although Hulk and former Rapid Bucureşti-man Cristian Săpunaru return.

Expressing a need to stay focused on the match Mariano González said:

"We are ready to face the match and to fight for the victory from the first whistle. We have to focus on that goal and not in the potential title celebration. The anxiety is normal since we have a major goal a short step away but we know we have to remain relaxed and work hard in order to reach that objective."

Expecting the customary fan support at home he added:

"The celebration of a victory in the championship is always unforgettable. Not only for the team and the club’ structure, but also for the fans. Last year we had the opportunity to rejoice with them at the Dragão and we hope it can happen again this year. We expect a stadium full with enthusiastic fans. It’s an important moment for the club and we rely on our supporters in the stadium."

Porto advance's to the finals of Taça de Portugal

Porto advance's to the finals of Taça de Portugal as they overcame a 2-1 loss to Estrela da Amadora at Estádio do Dragão to win 3-2 in aggregate.

Os Dragões took the lead only four minutes into the match as Freddy Guarín diagonal cross from the left found Lisandro López deep into the six yard box and after a controlling touch, he volleyed across to Ernesto Farías for a point-blank range finish. Three minutes after the half-hour mark it was showtime for the Silvestre Varela, who will join Porto this July, as he cleverly moved into the box and chipped to the far side of the box for Rui Varela to head past 'keeper Nuno. With four minutes remaining it was pure joga bonito as Pedro Pereira's cross into the box was sent to Rui Varela, who with it back to Rolando, who pounded the ball down with his left foot and as it rebounded overhead struck it near the back post for Anselmo to head in. With further mark the match ended 2-1, sending Jesualdo Ferreira's side to the finals.

Dragões honoured with international duty!

Carlos Queiroz as selected three Dragões for Portugal's friendly against Finland next Wednesday at Estádio Algarve. Bruno Alves, Rolando and Raúl Meireles from Porto will be part of the squad, Eduardo and Orlando Sá from SC Braga with João Moutinho chosen from Sporting. Lisandro López and Lucho González have been added to Diego Maradona's Argentina side that faces France in Marseille on Wednesday.

systematic victory over Vitória de Guimarães

While not electrifying, Porto triumphed over Vitória de Guimarães 2-0 in systematic fashion. The Dragões displayed very good build-up of play and overall discipline and while finishing was lacking, Jesualdo Ferreira will be pleased with overall performance. From one aspect, it can be said that opportunities weren't created before the break however the azuis e brancos showed discipline in not allowing susceptibility to the counter-attack. Finally six minutes past the hour mark Lisandro López broke the deadlock as he headed-in a cross from point-blank range.




Ernesto Farías guaranteeed the victory as he found the back of the net with two minutes remained when he was left all alone in front of the net.




The victory sees Porto to fourth in the table, five points behind Leixões in first. They return to action next Sunday against Estrela da Amadora

Match details.
Porto: Helton; Cristian Săpunaru (Lino 67'), Rolando, Bruno Alves e Jorge Fucile (Pelé (89'); Fernando, Raul Meireles e Lucho González; Tarik Sektioui (Ernesto Farías 46'), Lisandro López e Cristian Rodríguez

Vitória de Guimarães:
Nilson; Andrezinho, Moreno, Gregory e Momha; Flávio Meireles «cap.», João Alves (Jean Coral 81 min'), João Fajardo (Carlitos 69'), Yves Desmarets e Nuno Assis; Douglas (Roberto 55'),

Taça de Portugal

In a repeat of last years Taça de Portugal final, Porto visits Estádio José Alvalade to face Sporting. It is an twist of fate to see these two rivals drawn so early in the competition, particularly as you consider both played in tough Champions League matches earlier this week.

While the Dragões generally only release selected information before matches, Jesualdo Ferreira has been particularly tight-lipped about this and excluding the posted squad list, all commentary is media supposition or a nice way to say, building up content. For the match he has posted the squad list as below with the only change being a fully-fit Jorge Fucile returning in lieu of Cristian Săpunaru.

Bruno Alves, Fernando, Jorge Fucile, Freddy Guarín, Helton, Hulk, Lino, Lisandro López, Lucho González, Mariano González, Nuno, Pedro Emanuel, Pelé, Raul Meireles, Cristian Rodríguez, Rolando, Milan Stepanov, Tarik Sektioui e Tomás Costa,

Going into the match Paulo Bento is confident and with good reason. Besides having tremendous crowd support in defense of the being back to back winners of the Taça de Portugal they are without a doubt playing consistently better than Porto and showing signs that this is "their year." That might be a bitter pill for Port supporters but three wins in seven matches is a deplorable start and reason for concern. Domestically Porto has been terribly inconsistent and showing a embarrassing lack of commitment, losing to Leixões and Naval 1º de Maio in a manner that champions should never allow on the pitch. How this past weeks stunning victory against Dynamo Kyiv will impact them is guess work but hopefully it will be a wake-up call to not only improve performance but remember the crest they wear. While I have uttered it in the past, it's time to see Pelé more on the pitch, not simply because of his abilities but as a representative of the regional product and the obvious connection to the community.

Enjoy the match and I will report on it as it concludes.

Porto starts defense of title

Porto's quest for their sixth Portuguese Liga title in the decade and fourth in a row started today with a solid 2-0 victory over Belenenses at Estádio do Dragão. It has been a trying pre-season for the champions as they they are facing the reality that the talismanic Ricardo Quaresma wishes to play elsewhere and they have looked less than impressive in the attack without him. In the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira the offensive flourish that is characteristic of the squad was absent and to complete today's match most of their upper-tier players were on international duty this Wednesday and manager Jesualdo Ferreira was dealing with some interesting decisions.

In speaking to the media pre-match, Jesualdo Ferreira had commented that he had learned from the Supertaça defeat and corrected the problems. Proving true to his word Porto came out looking likely a completely different squad in comparison to the Supertaça and displayed creative yet confident flourish.

The match was an overwhelming one-sided affair from the get-go and quickly Mariano González gave the champions the lead at the fifteenth minute. Finishing still needs some work but the quality of movement and tactical precision was superb. New addition Cristian Săpunaru did a tremendous job and in the back-line and served notice that Porto is planning towards its Champions League bid. Fellow new-man Hulk was brought-in for Cristian Rodríguez with thirty-one minutes left in the match and was rewarded with his first goal with a brilliant left-footed strike from roughly twenty meters out to the far corner to bring the match to its final 2-0 score.

A brilliant start to the new season with the action picking up next week as they face Benfica.