Nacional 0-1 Porto | Liga Portugal
A solitary goal from Jan Bednarek kept the ‘Dragons’ at the top of the table with a seven-point lead.
Bednarek dedicated his winning goal to Samu.
TWITTER / FC PORTO
The draw against Sporting CP (1-1) brought devastating news for Porto: Samu Aghehowa, the club’s top scorer with 20 goals, suffered a cruciate ligament rupture that will sideline him for the rest of the season. Francesco Farioli’s men managed to survive their first match without Samu. The 1-0 victory over Nacional ended a two-game winless run and maintained Porto’s lead, now seven points clear of Sporting CP (who have a game in hand) and Benfica.
However, it took the Dragons until the 60th minute to break the deadlock. Gabri Veiga, who had entered the pitch just a minute earlier alongside fellow Spaniard Borja Sainz, delivered a corner from the left flank that Jan Bednarek headed into the net. It was the ninth assist for the former Celta Vigo player (who also has four goals this season), and Bednarek’s first league goal (he has two more in the cup) since arriving from Southampton in the summer for €7.5 million. Even more striking than the goal—a back-to-goal header—was the celebration: Bednarek pulled out a jersey with the number ‘9’ on the back, dedicating the strike to Samu.