Ruthless Porto march on

FC Porto 2-0 Vitoria Guimaraes

FC Porto took another step towards their third successive Portuguese title with an ultimately authoritative 2-0 victory in a high-quality encounter against northern neighbours Vitoria Guimaraes.

Despite another excellent showing from Guimaraes, justifying their high position in the standings, the Dragons made their pressure tell in the second half as Tarik and Lisandro scored to complete the win and open up a ten-point lead at the top of the table.

FC Porto, no doubt on a high after beating Besiktas to finish top of their Champions League Group in midweek, started brightly, with Lucho Gonzalez in particularly inspiring form. The classy midfielder’s intelligent play was at the heart of two moves that led to two incredible misses by the home team in the early stages.

Incredible miss

First a wonderful combination between Gonzalez and compatriot Lisandro Lopez ended with the latter touching the ball past goalkeeper Nilson, leaving Quaresma with the seemingly simple task of knocking the ball into the empty net, yet the winger incredibly lifted his shot over the bar.

Another slick move then saw Quaresma set up Tarik, but the Moroccan also missed the target from point-blank range. After struggling to contain Porto’s early attacking momentum, the visitors levelled things up as the match wore on and began to put together some good passing moves of their own.

Indeed, the first chance of the second period belonged to Guimaraes, and only a superb reaction save from Helton kept out a thundering Alan header.

Ironically, it was during Guimaraes’ best period that the hosts took the lead. On 55 minutes Quaresma dragged three defenders with him wide, before slipping the ball to Raul Meireles, whose cross was gleefully struck into the net by Tarik.

Fantastic atmosphere

The ebb and flow of the match continued, with both teams continuing to play excellent football before a crowd providing an exhilarating atmosphere, thanks to the non-stop support from the 3,000 travelling fans.

Porto made the game safe in the 73rd minute from who else but Lisandro Lopez. The Argentine latched onto a Marek Cech cross, bringing the ball down with his chest before thumping the it past Nilson with his left foot.

There was still time for Guimaraes substitute Targino to hit the bar with a late header, but Porto held on to remain unbeaten in the league this season, winning 11 of their 13 matches.

FC Porto:
Helton, Bosingwa, Pedro Emanuel, Bruno Alves, Marek Cech, Lucho (Mariano Gonzalez, 76), Paulo Assuncao, Raul Meireles (Bolatti, 68), Sektioui (Adriano, 79), Lisandro, Quaresma
Yellow Cards: Quaresma

V. Guimaraes:
Nilson, Andrezinho, Sereno, Geromel, Desmarets, Joao Alves (Carlitos, 75), Flavio Meireles, Alan, Fajardo, Ghilas (Targino, 59), Mrdakovic
Yellow Cards: Ghilas, Flavio Meireles

Goals:
[1-0] Sektioui, 55
[2-0] Lisandro, 73