FC Porto secured a 3-1 pre-season friendly win over Deportivo de La Coruña on Friday at the Estadio Municipal de Riazor. Francesco Farioli's side came from an early fourth-minute goal down to win with an improved second-half display. The Italian manager praised the team's reaction afterwards. «We were losing and ended up winning, thanks to a second half that showed collective improvements, more accuracy near the Galicians' goal and which ended with a great moment of inspiration from André Silva, closing the result with a great goal,» said Francesco Farioli.
Reaction after Galician opener
Deportivo took an early lead through Asp Jensen after a mistake by Borja Sainz in a dangerous area. FC Porto, with a line-up full of experiments due to eighteen absences, responded. Alan Varela hit the post in the 22nd minute and Chris Smalling, making his first start, struck the crossbar early in the second half. The equaliser came on the hour mark when Borja Sainz made amends by scoring. Four minutes later, André Silva, set up by Souza after a pass from Gabriel Mec, put the Dragons ahead. The striker sealed the win in the 90th minute with a powerful long-range strike.
Test with many absences
The team featured several new looks. Chris Smalling, announced earlier that week, formed the centre-back pairing with Francisco Moura. Souza played at left-back, Pepê occupied the usual role of Gabri Veiga and Samu returned to the starting line-up after a long injury layoff. The club now prepares for a return to competitive action, maintaining their solitary lead at the top of the Primeira Liga with 21 points from seven games. The next challenge is the trip to Marítimo on the 10th of October for the eighth round. Fans can check the full schedule on our fixtures page and the complete player list on the squad page. Good form continues with three consecutive wins, including the 3-1 victory over Benfica in the previous matchday.
More detail at O Jogo
