Quaresma-inspired FC Porto hammer Guimaraes

Vitoria Guimaraes 0-5 FC Porto

Champions FC Porto brought Guimaraes crashing down to earth with a merciless second-half display to beat their northern neighbours 5-0 in their own back yard.

Even without several first-team regulars, Porto were far too strong for the hosts, with the brilliant Ricardo Quaresma at the heart of another display that demonstrates the gulf in class between Porto and the best of the rest in Portugal.

A sell-out crowd of 30,000 at the sun-drenched Dom Afonso Henriques Stadium set the scene for what was expected to be a tight match, with Guimaraes looking to secure second place in their quest to qualify for the Champions League.

Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira rested Bosingwa, Pedro Emanuel, Lucho Gonzalez and Sektioui, no doubt with one eye on the Portuguese Cup final against Sporting in three weeks’ time.

A closely fought first half saw chances at a premium, with a Bruno Alves header for the visitors and a firm shot from Moreno for Guimaraes the closest both sides came to a goal.

The evenly contested first 45 minutes made Porto’s second half demolition job all the more surprising. On 53 minutes Lino swung in an inviting free-kick for the towering Bruno Alves to thump an unstoppable header into the net.

Spectacular goal

The high point of the afternoon came just before the hour mark as Quaresma picked up the ball on the left-flank, cut inside towards the corner of the box and curled a magnificent arching shot into the top corner of the net.

With Guimaraes forced to throw men forward in an attempt to get back into the game, Mariano took advantage by leading a quick counter-attack and playing the ball to Quaresma, who shimmied past his marker, steadied himself and hit another venomous shot past Nilson into the roof of the net from the edge of the area.

With Guimaraes in disarray substitutes Farias and Adriano both produced neat finishes to complete the rout. Manuel Cajuda’s team must now pick themselves up as they face another difficult match next week at Belenenses as they try to stay in contention for Champions League qualification.

Guimaraes:
Nilson, Andrezinho, Sereno, Geromel, Mohma (Fajardo, 72), Moreno (Carlitos, 61), Flavio Meireles, Alain, Ghilas, Desmarets, Mrdakovic (Roberto, 54)

FC Porto:
Helton, Fucile, Stepanov, Bruno Alves, Lino, Paulo Assuncao (Kazmierczak, 46), Bolatti, Raul Meireles (Farias, 69), Quaresma, Lisandro (Adriano, 63), Mariano
Yellow Cards: Bruno Alves

Goals:
[0-1] Bruno Alves, 53
[0-2] Quaresma, 59
[0-3] Quaresma, 71
[0-4] Farias, 78
[0-5] Adriano, 83