FC Porto kept their perfect Primeira Liga run alive with a tense win decided by a defender and protected by a goalkeeper. Martim Fernandes scored the goal that made it 2-1, while Diogo Costa made the key saves that stopped the home side from turning the pressure into points. The result was FC Porto's 11th league win of the season.
Fernandes from unlikely match-winner to decisive scorer
The goal itself came at a good moment for Porto, but it also stood out for who scored it. Fernandes has 1 league goal in 6 Primeira Liga appearances, so this was a rare attacking return from a defender, and a clean one at that.
A Bola's ratings panel described it as power rather than luck, saying: "The right-back's goal was an ode to power." That fits the way Porto got over the line here. Pepê supplied the final pass, and Fernandes finished the move with enough force to settle the match.
Costa's saves held the lead together
Costa's most important stop came early, with his first save arriving in the 26th minute. He then produced the kind of intervention that keeps a narrow win intact, including an extraordinary knee save against the isolated Gustavo Silva, which A Bola said he won with steel nerves.
His season rating in the league now stands at 7.06, and he followed this match with a 7.59 rating. Porto needed both of those levels, the overall reliability and the one big moment, because the game was still open when Fernandes put them ahead.
The perfect start remains the headline. Ten wins from 10 in the league is a strong platform, and Porto's latest win had the same pattern as several others this season, a direct goal at one end and a decisive goalkeeper at the other.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
