Porto 1-0 Rio Ave
Porto edge past Rio Ave (1-0) with a solitary first-half goal from Froholdt
Froholdt celebrates his goal for Porto
Porto have no choice but to learn to live without Samu Aghehowa after his serious cruciate ligament injury ruled him out of the World Cup. Last week, they managed a narrow win away to Nacional in Madeira, and they repeated the trick with a 1-0 victory over Rio Ave to maintain their four-point lead over Sporting CP at the top of the table.
Just like last week against Nacional, Deniz Gül started up front ahead of Terem Moffi, who joined in the winter transfer window. Another winter signing, 17-year-old Oscar Pietuszewski, once again beat Borja Sainz to the left-wing spot and produced a brilliant run to set up Froholdt for the 22nd-minute opener.
Early in the second half, the linesman flagged an offside to disallow a stunning strike from Deniz Gül that had crashed into the top corner. Porto did not ease off the pressure and hit the woodwork twice: Froholdt after the hour mark, and Rodrigo Mora—who had replaced Gabri Veiga 25 minutes earlier—in the closing stages.
In truth, the scoreline flattered Rio Ave given the quality of Porto’s chances. But that is the difference between having a striker like Samu and not having him. Porto must learn to survive without him. Up next are the first leg of the Taça de Portugal semi-final against Sporting and a trip to Da Luz to face Mou’s Benfica.