FC Porto concedes unexpected draw in Barcelos before the classic | National football

This Sunday, FC Porto conceded a draw in Barcelos (1-1), against Gil Vicente, and allowed Benfica to move a little further ahead of the championship, in the round that precedes the classic with their rival. The “dragons” were ahead until the fourth minute of added time, thanks to a goal from Evanilson, but ended up letting two points slip away following a header from Thomas Lopes.

For the Porto fans, who host Benfica in the next round (after the Portuguese Cup game with Santa Clara), this was a highly penalizing result, which came in the aftermath of the European journey. The distance to the “reds”, moreover, is now nine points.

With very similar devices, FC Porto and Gil Vicente assumed their respective roles, with the Porto players taking control of the game naturally, but without enhancing their greater possession of the ball.

With slow and predictable processes, the “blue and whites” did not pose any real problems to the Gilistas’ defensive block. Two incidents in the first 20 minutes — communication failure between referee and assistant and a clash between Pepe and Rúben Fernandes — caused a nine-minute interruption, breaking the initial momentum and causing the pace of the game to drop.

Sérgio Conceição had rested Galeno and Nico González and the substitutes Iván Jaime and Eustáquio were not responding. In particular, the Spaniard, dominated by the Gilista full-back and often tempted to explore the interior game.

Gil Vicente played on the opponent’s expectations and errors, having shown his courage in two ball losses by the Dragons’ midfield, the most dangerous in an infiltration by Touré, who failed to finish.

Stagnant, with central defenders Otávio Ataíde and Rúben Fernandes appearing in the opposing areas to impose the aerial game, the game had rare reasons for interest until Sérgio Conceição sent a warning to the crew with the “threat” of changes.

Thanks to Wendell and Pepê, but also to the dynamics of the right wing, with João Mário and Francisco Conceição more active, the match experienced a less uninteresting period in the moments before the break.

After Rúben Fernandes was on the verge of scoring an own goal, Eustáquio still introduced the ball into Gil Vicente’s goal… but an action (block) by Wendell in the small area led to the invalidation of the move, which dismayed the Porto bench.

To make matters worse, Eustáquio arrived late to a pass from Conceição and the score remained null until rest, largely due to the inability of the attackers, with only one shot being placed in front of the Gilista goal in the entire first half.

The break was good for the Porto fans, who resumed the match with the necessary force to win the game. The rebirth of Iván Jaime also played a crucial role in the difference in the behavior of the “dragons”.

The Spaniard forced Andrew into a tight defense. The goalkeeper still saved the penalty awarded to punish Mory Gbane’s hand in the 55th minute, but he was unable to do anything about Evanilson’s rebound, which put FC Porto in front.

Gil Vicente suffered and only failed to hand over the three points before the first hour of the game because neither Pepê, Evanilson nor Francisco Conceição had enough discernment to resolve the match. The home team believed and grew, as they had a sovereign chance to equalize through Ali Alipour (67′), in a move neutralized by Otávio Ataíde.

The game was broken and FC Porto tried to take advantage of the spaces found in the Gilista block, without capitalizing on the successive goal situations created. The best were a shot by Otávio Ataíde, saved by Gabriel Pereira (76′), and a ride by Evanilson, who failed, isolated, in the face of Andrew (82′).

But Gil Vicente still had a word to say. Brazilian Thomas Lopes, who had come off the bench in the 88th minute, appeared in the opposite area in the 90+4 minute to head a cross from the left, catching Diogo Costa in the opposite direction. A punch in the stomach for an FC Porto team that entered Barcelos with practically no margin for error.