FC Porto 1 Sporting CP 1

FC Porto v Sporting CP
Friday Febuary 7th, 2025
Estádio do Dragão
Matchday 21

The Warm Up 

Sporting travel to the Dragão to face Porto for this season's fourth competitive meeting between the two sides. A win from Rui Borges side will see them move 11 points clear of their northern rivals with 13 rounds to play. Monday night saw new coach Martín Anselmi’s side draw 2-2 away to Rio Ave, twice having to come from behind after defensive howlers. To compound their fans misery it was confirmed post game that Nico González had been sold to Premier League Manchester City. His sale followed the departure of Galeno to Al Ahli as the club desperately try to balance their books after the poor financial management of the previous regime. Three new faces arrived for Porto during the transfer window; João Moreira RB and William Gomes LW from São Paulo and Tomas Perez from Newell's Old Boys. Porto will I'm sure be hoping that their buy low, sell high philosophy continues to bear fruit having added a much needed €100m to the bottom line in this transfer window alone. 

Monday was six months to the day the two club's met in the season's curtain raiser, the Supertaça. At the top, two club Presidents in Frederico Varandas and André Villas-Boas who both outwardly at least were convinced their teams were capable of winning the league title this campaign. Sérgio Conceição so often the thorn in Sporting's side had been relieved of his duties as coach of Porto and been replaced by his deputy Vítor Bruno. Conceição apparently saw the appointment as the ultimate betrayal and I believe labelled him as a traitor for having taken over and not departed with him in a show of solidarity. I mean why not say how you really feel Sérgio? Sporting the reigning champions by comparison had managed to retain not only their best players after their league title winning season but also the services of coach Ruben Amorim, a man desperate to secure back to back titles. 

Turns out six months is an awful long time in football, especially this season in Portuguese football. 

Maybe the Supertaça was the perfect catalyst for what was about to follow in the next six months - It's been a crazy period for Portuguese top flight football. Sporting raced to a 3-0 lead after just 24 minutes. Life as the new Porto coach couldn't have started worse for Bruno. Even when Porto punished a defensive error from Sporting to make it 3-1 no one seriously believed this game would end up with anything other than a win for Sporting. 3-1 became 3-2 just after the hour mark and incredibly 2 goals in the space of 3 minutes saw the game draw level. Extra time followed and the unthinkable happened as Porto completed their turn around to win 3-4. 

If the defeat in the Supertaça had dented the lions self belief and confidence then it didn't show. Sporting would win 16 of their first 17 games in all competitions, the other game finishing as a 1-1 draw with PSV in the Champions League. 11 straight wins in the league including a 2-0 at the José Alvalade in the Clássico. Despite this loss Porto were still managing to hang onto the coattails of Sporting just 3 points behind after 9 games until a 4-1 thumping at the hands of Benfica away seemingly stopped them in their tracks. 

Hope for not just Porto but Benfica and Portuguese football in general would arrive in the form of the loss of Amorim as he departed for Manchester United. João Pereira was promoted as the new mister from Sporting B, continuity the name of the game with the mistaken belief that the inexperienced coach just had to steer this seemingly unstoppable ship in its current direction. What could go wrong?

It started so well with a 6-0 win at home to Amarante in the Taça de Portugal. Then the wheels came off with four straight defeats and the sharks of Porto and Benfica smelt blood. Benfica had already parted ways with their coach Roger Schmidt early on in the season and reappointed a 'yes man' for the board in previous coach Bruno Lage. However at Porto Villas-Boas still remained loyal to his new charge. Four straight defeats followed for Sporting. The green shoots of recovery started with wins at home to Boavista and Santa Clara but those were followed with a lacklustre 0-0 draw away to Gil Vicente. Boxing Day and against the spirit of Christmas with the derby 3 days off, Sporting decided that the hand on the tiller wasn't so steady after all and after just 45 days at the helm Pereira was relieved of his duties. Even Liz Truss had lasted longer as the British Prime Minister than his tenure. Pereira, unlike Conceição, departed with far more dignity, refused a pay-off and would eventually return to his role as coach of Sporting B. 

Rui Borges was brought in as Pereira's replacement from Vitória de Guimaraes having led his charges to second in the Europa Conference League table before his departure. By now at the top of the table everything had concertinaed, what was once perceived in many quarters as Sporting's title to lose was now open season for any one of the big three and yet despite the sharks smelling Sporting’s blood somehow the other two were still unable to take a decisive bite. 

On January 20th, Villas-Boas finally decided that Bruno wasn't the man after all and pulled the plug, Martín Anselmi instead the new man charged with restoring Porto's power within the Portuguese game. At 39 his career as a full coach has taken him in the space of 3 years from Unión La Calera in Chile to Independiente del Valle in Ecuador and finally Cruz Azul in Mexico before Porto came knocking for his services. Porto believed they could get their new man for €2.8m but Víctor Velázquez the President of Cruz would state very publicly that his coach's release clause was only valid if a big team came in for his services. In his opinion despite their 30 domestic league titles and their Champions League win, Porto does not qualify as a big team and had demanded payment of €5m to release Anselmi. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. That's my polite way of dodging what I want to write which might end up giving me and Sporting bad karma. Despite threats from Cruz Azul to sue their former coach for breach of contract, Porto have at least installed their new coach and that brings us full circle to Friday nights game. 

I should probably note at this juncture that since December 28th Porto have one win in the last seven competitive games, a run which started with defeat to Sporting, one of four straight losses. Their sole win was away to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League.

Hope is that Viktor Gyökeres returns to the team on Friday night in some capacity. Well from the green and white half of Lisboa anyways. I'm not sure Porto fans are jumping up and down with excitement at the prospect, especially after his cameo performance off the bench in last season's corresponding fixture. The club was really careful to stress that the reason he missed the games against Bologna and Farense wasn't his knee. O Jogo then went on the record and stated he was missing because of a recurrence to the injury to his knee. I've written within these posts before that his knee is one of the worst kept secrets in football. I'll double down on my statement in recent weeks that the only hope of keeping the Swedish striker into next season will rest on him having had to undergo further surgery this forthcoming summer and he isn't fully rehabilitated before the end of the summer transfer window. In addition to the Swede, Morita still looks a way off returning to the starting XI. Geny remains a doubt after he was stretched off against Farense midway through the first half. Frankly I care little whether Bragança is fit or not after he hobbled off after another disappointing display. 

So Sporting currently have the upper hand with two wins to Porto's one in competitive games played between each other this season. Porto will, I'm sure, point to the fact that their solitary win resulted in the lifting of the Supertaça. Sporting will point to the fact that the Supertaça is the Portuguese Charity Shield and doesn't really count unless they win it of course and then it counts. Definitely doesn't count in England even if Mikel Arteta thinks it does. It seems maybe too easy to suggest that this fixture is bigger right now for Porto than it is for Sporting. It'll definitely be a baptism of fire for Anselmi. I don't mind admitting that the Dragõe is one of the best stadiums in European football, if not world football for atmosphere when things are going well. Not so great when things aren't going so well. You'd imagine Anselmi will not have taken charge of a side in a game this big in his short career and this will be a huge test. He's now Porto's João Pereira whether he likes it or not. I'm not suggesting he won't outlast the 45 days but a defeat here will not help his long term chances that's for certain. A win on the other hand, well the world's his oyster. Well maybe not quite just yet. 

Vítor Bruno will rightly point out that the home record under him was the best in the division with 9 wins and a draw. Porto also boast the best home defensive record having conceded just 3 times whilst scoring 26; Santa Clara, Braga and Farense the only sides to have found the net. Whether they maintain that same level with both Sporting and Benfica to play at home remains to be seen. Sporting will need to nullify the threat of top goalscorer Samuel Aghehowa which in fairness they managed to do in the semi-final of the Taça da Liga. Rodriguez Mora certainly caught my eye in that game and at 17 years of age he could well be the next young player in Portugal to have the vultures of European football circling around. Despite him seemingly having fallen out of favour with the Porto fans, Galeno was, based on average ratings, still Porto's best player so his loss will be felt, as will that of Nico González who had the second best average. That's coupled with the fact that behind Aghehowa they were the clubs second and third top scorers with 13 goals between them. Overall home and away Porto have the best record for clean sheets tied with Sporting on 11 a piece. For anyone reading thinking that means this game has 0-0 written all over it, you have to go back to February 27th, 2021 for the last goalless draw between the sides. I should also maybe mention that Sporting have only lost once away all season in ten games and have the second best defensive record conceding 9 whilst maybe more importantly they've scored more than anyone else with 32 goals. 

This is a big month for Rui Borges and his Sporting side. Six games in the space of 19 days with a squad that continues to be ravaged by injuries. Two Champions League ties await against BVB, a home game to Arouca sandwiched in between those. Finally an away trip to AVS and the next round of the Taça de Portugal away to Gil Vicente. Depending on the result of those cup games we could have a relatively quiet March, April and May with a schedule of 4, 4 and 3 games respectively. By that point last season Sporting's players were already on their knees. Maybe this time will be buoyed by the return to full fitness of the likes of Gonçalves, Morita, Quaresma and Gyökeres. We can only hope. Watch this space. 

This week saw the winter transfer window close. Sporting finally managed to get a temporary solution to their English problem as Marcus Edwards joined Championship club Burnley on loan until the end of the season. That move will become permanent if they gain promotion to the Premier League. They currently sit second following a 1-0 home win over Oxford United on Wednesday. A deal has reportedly been signed with Chelsea for the services of Sporting's youngest ever player Dário Essugo for €25m who will join the Londoners in the summer. Having already played for Sporting and Las Palmas this season he therefore cannot play for a third side under current FIFA regulations and will continue with his current loan in La Liga. Note the use of the word reportedly. A Bola may have jumped the gun earlier this week as I cannot see any other media outlets confirming the deal. Morita was apparently the subject of a bid from Wolverhampton but with the club keen to offer him a new contract and Rui Borges making no secret of his admiration for the Japanese midfielder, that was always a no go. Inácio was the subject of interest from Sporting's next Champions League opponents BVB which is presumably why he went on record to reiterate that Sporting is his club, the one he's supported since he was a boy when he'd come to games with his father, the one he loves and that he was going nowhere. That's the part of the story the English press will never add when linking him with a raft of Premier League clubs, not every player is motivated simply in a financial sense to move away. 

No surprise to learn that AC Milan and Conceição had zero interest in Trincão and no bid was ever made for his services. You'd imagine that was obvious to most with a brain cell and yet many publications ran the stories at the start of the window. One deal that didn't happen but could still in the summer is the signing of Allison Santos from Leiria. I believe the deal fell through because Leiria would need to have completed a compulsory €750,000 purchase from his parent club in Brazil before Sporting could sign him. Spare a thought for the 22 year old Brazilian who would have started the week dreaming of joining one of Portugal's elite clubs and potentially playing in the Champions League only to have those dashed. Being a professional footballer is not always easy and we'll see what his character and mettle is like between now and the end of the season. You imagine if nothing else the publicity has alerted clubs to his potential which may not actually benefit Sporting at all and make a deal that much harder to do. 

In the end just two new players came in through the doors; Rui Silva from Real Betis who has featured in all 3 league games since signing and this weekend saw the arrival of Brazilian Gabriel Teixeira Aragão more commonly known as Biel from Brazilian side Bahia. The move clearly surprised them because they were all ready to present him with a special jersey to mark his 100th appearance for the club. 

Potentially there remains exit routes for Ricardo Esgaio and *Kovačević with transfer windows still open in markets such as Turkey, Brazil and the MLS. We'll see if any movement occurs with those two in the forthcoming weeks.

*Kovačević has now gone back to Poland in a loan deal with Legia Warsaw which was made possible by their loan of Vinagre being made permanent in a €2.5m deal. The left sided defender lest we forget having cost the club €10 m in the 2021/22 season. He made a total of 12 league appearances before loan moves to Everton, Hull City, Hellas Veronas before finally landing in Poland. 

In the markets 

Porto 17/10

Draw 9/4

Sporting 8/5

Team news 

Starting XI 

Silva, Araújo, Inácio, Diomande, Fresneda, Simões, Hjulmand, Bragança, Quenda, Harder and Trincão

Substitutes 

Israel, Reis, St Juste, Debast. Quaresma, Morita, Esgaio, Gyökeres and Teixeira 

One enforced change to the starting XI with Geny injured. Simões comes into midfield alongside Hjulmand. Suggestion that Sporting will start in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Harder the lone striker. The big news coming in respects of those named on the bench. Morita and Gyökeres both named and Biel has his requisite paperwork now approved which could allow him to make his debut at some point. With Sporting B having played and won 1-0 at teatime there's no academy players making up the numbers. 

First Half

Hopefully we're about to bear witness to a less claustrophobic 90 minutes with Porto unlikely to stick ten men behind the ball in a low block with about 6 yards between a bank of 5 defenders and 4 midfielders. What we will see is a crime against humanity as Sporting wear their garish fluorescent green kit only popular with people under the age of 7. 

According to the lineups on TV Sporting more likely to employ a 4-3-3 with Bragança in midfield.

Porto get us underway, Sporting attack left to right. 

1 Quenda appeals for a penalty as his pass appears to hit the arm of Pedro but it was down by his side so irrelevant even if it did make contact 

2 Strong run down the right from Fresneda who cleverly plays the ball off his marker for a corner. 

3 Trincão picks out Hjulmand whose flicked header is saved by Costa from 8 yards 

5 High boot in the centre from a Porto player. Araújo doesn't make a meal of it otherwise you feel Pepe could have been in big trouble there. I don't think I'm doing a disservice by suggesting if it was the other way around the world would have ended. 

7 Free kick on the left 36 yards out. Quenda ready to take. He picks out Inácio unmarked in the centre. Not sure whether he gets a glancing touch with his head or it goes straight out of play. Just needed to be 3 inches lower. Sporting are obviously targeting the defence with high balls for a reason 

8 Faintest of touches by Harder on a Porto player who as I suspected would happen over the course or this game has gone down like he's been hit by Mike Tyson in his prime

11 Aghehowa with a short pull on Hjulmand then grabs the players body. The Dane looks at the referee as if to ask how was that not a booking? 

13 Random bleep on the coverage like you used to get on British TV when someone swore. How wonderfully nostalgic 

14 Simões deliberately chopped down. Again no booking. 

15 Referee blows his whistle as Simões is flat on his back clearly struggling after that tackle from Eustaquio which he took the full impact of on his knee. 

17 Play has restarted with Debast warming up as a precaution 

17 Quenda hacked down by Mora. Do you all get a go at injuring a player before a yellow is shown 

18 Mora is finally booked as he takes down Araújo. Free kick to Sporting 32 yards out

19 Quenda gets his distribution all wrong and the ball goes straight out for a goal kick

20 Great play by Hjulmand who won the ball in the centre of the pitch and set Bragança away but poor distribution sees the chance go begging. 

21 Simões looks like he's in tears as he's down again. You realise how young some of our players are at moments like these. 

22 Simões replaced by Debast. They've just shown the replay of the challenge that led to the injury again and having hit my knee hundreds of times I was wincing and could feel his pain. Those really hurt 

24 Mora with another poor challenge. Not sure he's going to last the 90. Little bit too pumped up for this game. They may do well to take him off before he adds a second yellow at some point

25 From an attacking sense it's all been Sporting. The lions just need to be more clinical with their passes in the final third 

26 Aghehowa flattens Diomande as he goes right through the back of him. Again just a talking from the referee 

26 Having said it's been all Sporting, a mistake at the back allows Eustaquio to curl an effort onto the bar from 16 yards. Pass across the 18 yard box was cut out by the outstretched leg of Aghehowa. 

27 Aghehowa tries a lob from a yard inside the Porto half which lands onto the top of the net 

28 The volume just went up in the Dragõe as Porto finally with something to cheer about 

31 Turn of pace from Quenda loses his marker inside the area but his pull back can only find a defender 

33 Aghehowa blasts over the bar from 20 yards and I almost spat diet coke everywhere laughing at the effort. 

33 Gyökeres warming up on the sidelines. He'll have a field day with the amount of space with Porto employing a high line when defending 

34 Trincão sends a shot low and wide of the right hand post from 25 yards 

35 Diomande dispossessed Pepe on the sidelines cleanly taking the ball and Porto awarded a free kick. Utterly bizarre. The Ivorian less than impressed with the decision 

38 Porto defending in a 5-3-2 with a high defensive line about 12 yards from the half way line. You could build a village in the space behind. Sporting just need to pick the right ball over the top

41 . GOAL Porto 0 Sporting CP 1 Quenda loses his man on the touchline, then skips past a second defender, pulls the ball back across the area to Fresneda who slams the ball home from ten yards. That's two in two for the Spaniard who let's not forget was a month ago on his way to Italy with Como. 

43 The game gets underway with the Sportinguista's making all the noise up in the Gods where they're situated. Trincão brought down by Djalo in a clumsy challenge half way inside the Porto half 

44 Quenda tries the extra point… and it's good. Oh wait this isn't the Superbowl final but the Clássico. In that case bloody awful shot into row Z from 20 yards 

Plus five shown 

+2 Trincão puts the ball out for a Porto corner. Header out finds Quenda who hoofs it like he was born in 1986. That's a proper old fashioned clearance. 

Half time 

Porto 0 Sporting CP 1 

If Sporting can get half an hour out of Gyökeres you get the feeling he will absolutely terrorise this Porto defence and take full advantage of their high defensive line. Sporting have been their own worst enemies with either the wrong ball in the final third or misplaced passes in defence like the one which led to the chance which cannoned off the bar. That being said they do go in at half time deservedly in front. Porto will be kicking themselves that no one stopped the ball in from Quenda. Ironically it wasn't the best but sometimes fortune smiles down on you. The skill to get away from his man on the touchline and the fortitude to use his pace to beat the second were utterly sublime. So wonderful to watch his confidence grow and he starts to fulfil the hype that's surrounded him since well before he broke into the first team. 

Relatively quiet night for Harder so far but as indication of how his game is coming on he's been quite tightly marked all half which has at least allowed space for Trincão to operate in on the right hand side. If Quenda has been the star for Sporting he's been well supported on both flanks by Araújo and Fresneda who've been given licence to drive forward. 

Hjulmand at present looks utterly unflappable at the heart of midfield. He's suddenly got this incredible calm aura about him as if he's realised that he truly leads by example and his teammates all fall into line. Whereas Porto have resulted to a series of fouls to break up Sporting attacks, our defence and midfield have been in the right place every time. The only back mark that stray pass in the box which led to Porto's only decent chance in the entire half. 

It's hard to see where Porto will find the opportunity to get back into the game from. Sporting have sat back and commanded their half in the opening 45 and look a cut above Porto who have €100m on their balance sheet and a gaping gap in quality left on the pitch. As it stands they'll need a miracle to close an 11 point gap to Sporting come the end of May if the Lions leave with all three points.

Second half 

Sporting get us back underway. No changes from either side. 

45 Fresneda knocks the ball out of play for a corner with less than 30 seconds gone

46 Sporting cleared the corner but only to the edge of the 18 yard box. Ball played back in was left by Trincão unaware Pepe was behind him who thankfully drills it wide 

49 Moura with a cross cum shot which Silva watches go past his left hand post 

50 It's been one way traffic in the opening 5. Sporting finally with possession of the ball just taking the sting out of the game 

51 Harder is down first holding his ear and then his throat. Djalo and him had a coming together off the ball. Not sure how much was in it. No close up of the incident. 

51 Harder holds his head in his hands as he blasts the ball into the stand from 12 yards 

53 Sporting have weathered the storm and the game is relatively calm once more. Can we get half hour from Gyökeres? Even twenty minutes would do 

54 Two blocked efforts from Porto in the same move. Quenda felt he was fouled in the buildup and probably had a good point too. 

55 Quick break from Sporting. Quenda cross blocked for a corner. That's the danger for Porto as they search for the equaliser. 

56 Acrobatic scissor kick by Harder from 9 yards from the Quenda corner nearside goes wide of the left hand post. Most effective I've seen Sporting from set pieces for 18 months or more 

57 Corner Porto. Ball bundled into the net but the referee quickly pointed to the fact that Djalo was so far offside he may as well have been in Braga. 

59 Harder is comedy gold as he suggests the Porto player flopped like a ragdoll as the man goes down in front of him 

60 If Sporting can get a second you can see the wind going out of Porto's sails totally. 

60 Quenda is down on the floor and the referee finally blows for a break in play. He clearly took an elbow to the ribs there. 

61 Anselmi shown the yellow card. He tried to walk off like a naughty school boy and hide behind his coaching staff but the referee hunted him down

62 Since when have the PAs been allowed to start chants during a game over the tannoy system? Suspect Porto will be fined for that one. 

63 Debast leaves one in on a Porto player who quickly gets up and reacts and chases after the Belgian. They don't like it in reverse do they 

65 João Mário with the time and space to write his memoirs at the far post kicks nothing but air from 15 yards. Thankfully I didn't have a mouthful of drink that time when I laughed 

66 Morita with his new haircut is quite easy to spot now. He's stood on the sidelines ready to come on. I think that's Gyökeres now making his way alongside him. 

67 Huge save by Silva. Bullet header going into the bottom left hand corner from Pepe

68 Bragança off for Morita and Harder for… Gyökeres. 

69 Quenda cannot believe he's not put Sporting 2-0 ahead as he misses the goal from 7 yards with Costa quickly out to narrow the angle

70 Araújo shown the yellow for a foul on Mário 

71 Aghehowa with a touch like a trampoline kicks the ball out of play from 17 yards 

71 Silva booked for time wasting. ABH fine, first instance of time wasting - yellow. 

73 Gyökeres turns Djalo and ends up on the ground. Clearly pulls his shirt. No penalty 

74 For the first time tonight I am genuinely nervous. I had a health check Thursday and have a 3.64% chance of having a heart attack in the next ten years. Didn't ask if they took watching Sporting into account 

76 Porto player down receiving treatment. Looks like he injured himself as he slid in to take the ball from Trincão. Varela hobbles to the side after treatment. 

77 Gomes and Namasa on for the home side. One substitute left for them. 

78 Mora rolls his way past three defenders before his shot from 8 yards is blocked for a corner. See my comments in the opening buildup. Definitely got something about him even if he's been relatively anonymous tonight 

80 Porto players losing their heads as Aghehowa is penalised for a foul in the box on Araújo and screams in annoyance making our boy Harder look quite grown up by comparison 

82 Morita blocks a shot for a corner on the edge of the 18 yard box. Once more then headed clear in the second phase of play. Amazing what a week on the training ground can do for set pieces at both ends 

83 Araújo with a sublime bit of skill to get himself clear of two Porto players. Sees the next man jump in and dangles his foot so he goes down. Would I get pissed off if a Porto player did it? Yes I would. All I'm saying 

84 Clever play from Hjulmand who carries the ball out and goes down under the challenge of Gomes

85 Reis on for Araújo who's had a really good night again 

85 Trincão brought down 6 yards outside the box. Appeals waved away 

87 Long ball trying to play Quenda into space cut out. Appeals for handball by the travelling fans. Had that got through Porto were in big trouble

87 Gyökeres effort blocked from a tight angle. 

89 Sporting playing keep ball out on the right wing running down the clock 

Plus five shown 

90 Stadium announcer shouting Porto, Porto again. That really is poor fucking form. Must be desperate 

92 My heart still works. Good to know as it thumps in my chest

92 Sporting fans don't need a stadium announced to get them going

92 Gyökeres fires in a shot from 16 yards wide right towards the near post saved by Silva 

93 GOAL Porto 1 Sporting CP 1. Aghehowa throws his leg at a ball at the far post and connected to send it back to Namasa who tapped in from six yards 

94 Quenda goes flying in the box but the referee wasn't interested. He's shown one of the Sporting staff a yellow card for the protests. Hjulmand has also been booked. Reis has too. 

+6 Corner Sporting. Red card shown to Reis. 

+7 Reis finally leaves the field. Borges is shaking his head in disbelief. Quenda still waits to take a corner. Referee finally confirms no penalty. 

+7 Diomande shown a straight red card. He lent his head on the player. No force whatsoever. As I said in the first half you can guarantee a Porto player would go down like a sack of shit. 

+9 in the space of five minutes the corner still hasn't been taken. Sporting down to nine. Yellow shown to Viera 

+9 Quenda takes the corner. Samu has been booked. The final whistle has gone. 

Red card to a Porto substitute. Coverage cut off. I can only think what continues to happen. 

Full time

Porto 1 Sporting CP 1 

The final word 

They say lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice but clearly it does in the Dragõa as Sporting once more finish a Clássico with sendings off in additional time. The last five minutes of officiating were farcical. There's no other word for it. Before the game a friend of mine was complaining about the match officials and I basically said don't be daft there's no conspiracy don't buy into the narrative and the first thing I did when the whistle blew was message her and say I'm sorry you were completely correct. 

Postman Pat didn't show that many cards in the Christmas special. 

I don't even know what Reis was shown the second yellow for. In the 94th minute you see him first flash the yellow at Hjulmand who wasn't shouting or going wild. He asks the referee a question and the hand goes into the pocket. Reis makes the shape of a ball and he gets one as well. Then there's a melee in the box and you're watching the red go up at Reis who is stunned beyond belief. In the buildup to the straight red for Diomande he does push a player and could have had a yellow. What he gets sent off for is putting his head onto I think Vieira who goes down like he's been shot by the Jackal. Literally drops like a dead weight. I'd love to know how Porto fans feel about their players cheating week in and week out. I made light of it in the first half minutes that had the high boot that went in on Araújo been the other way around then Pepe would have convinced you he'd been decapitated. Every time we play Porto it's the same pathetic shit from them. It's fucking embarrassing. I'd ban all the kids in Porto who play football from being allowed to watch them. In playgrounds all over the city on Monday teachers will be running over to kids thinking there's a pandemic as pupils drop like flies in the playground. It's almost hard to write anything else about the game after that ending. 

The equaliser comes from that desire at the far post from Aghehowa to get something on the ball. Try the same thing ten times and he might get a touch three or four times and if it was four then three times it probably wouldn't even go back across goal. It happens. Porto looked the better side attacking wise all half. Sporting tried to run the clock down when maybe they'd have been better going on the offensive. That I don't have any issue with. You can't legislate for that. There's no fingers of blame to be pointed at our defence. They got away with one in the first half and in fairness maybe that one should have been punished and you'd have had a 1-1 via a different route. 

I'd need to see the shirt pull on Gyökeres in full speed again when he went to ground. Djalo clearly has a handful of his shirt so by the letter of the law you would suggest it was a fair shout to ask for a penalty. Again you didn't really get to see the Quenda one which led to the scenes at the end. Presumably he got the ball first and the motion of the defender took him into Quenda after which if it was the case is fair enough. 

Anselmi celebrated the equaliser like Porto had just won the league. Stay Humble Eh. Other than the refereeing display at the end my biggest grumble is the stadium announcer getting chants going from the home fans. I started by saying that the Dragõa has one of the best atmospheres in European football if not world football. I take it back. If you need to do that to get your fans going then what can I say?

Silva made a superb save second half. He's still really not had much to do in his four games so I'm still not able to form any sort of judgement as to what type of keeper he is. The back four other than the goal and the stray pass in the first half were incredibly effective as a unit. It looked like a training game for them for large periods. Hjulmand again led by example in all areas of the pitch. Shame you have to have figures written into the contracts for players in Portugal because every game he adds value to his worth. Gutted for the youngster Simões to have to come off so early. Having had the same numerous occasions over the years it shouldn't keep him out too long. Some ice and a cuddle from his mum will make it better I'm sure. 

Trincão and Harder worked tirelessly and even though there was no end product from either player if you could watch them both for 90 minutes with the camera on only them you would I think see they were both effective in their own ways. Trincão when he picks up the ball and runs at the defence, Harder just being an absolute bloody menace and utter pain in the arse to mark. He'll learn that maybe he has a half second more time to get a shot away than he thinks he does and I have no doubts that the more he plays the more he has a big future ahead of him and he's going to cause a lot of defenders an awful lot of headaches and hopefully those will come with him in a Sporting shirt. Just not that God awful kit they were wearing again tonight. 

Man of the match? Few contenders. Hjulmand for those reasons given above. Fresneda for his goal, defending and when going forward. Araújo for exactly the same reasons as Fresneda. Can only be one man though… I say man he's not quite there yet is he. Quenda was a joy to watch tonight. His play for the assist was fantastic. He caused all sorts of problems all over the pitch. Yes he doesn't always get it right but you could see the confidence brimming in him tonight. That's the first time I've thought he's really, really shone and that you've got the makings of a superstar on your hands. I hope he goes anywhere else in the world other than Manchester United because they'll ruin him. Right now a reputable agent would tell him to stay where he is for another season at least; Keep learning the game, stay with a club where you'll be loved, nurtured and brought on in the correct manner. That won't happen sadly. Enjoy him while you can folks.  

Somewhere in Porto is a referee singing to himself in the showers It's all about you, it's all about you baby...