Porto’s riverside stadium carried the weight of a classic on Sunday, and the champions found both the present and a hopeful glimpse of the future in a 3-1 victory over Benfica. Gabri Veiga opened the scoring at the Estádio do Dragão, In-beom Hwang celebrated his 30th birthday with his first goal for the club, and Samu Aghehowa returned after seven months away through injury as Porto strengthened their hold on Portugal’s title race.
The early exchanges had been sharp and even, before Benfica began to create the clearer moments. Gianluca Prestianni, the Argentine forward, headed over when the Lisbon side were enjoying their strongest spell. Porto gradually pushed the match back towards Samuel Soares’s goal, however, and struck in the 31st minute.
Pepê’s long pass found Veiga, who brought the ball under control before finishing beyond the Benfica goalkeeper. The visitors’ afternoon became more difficult shortly afterwards when Clément Lenglet was sent off. The French defender, formerly of Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, received a second yellow card after catching André Silva in the face.
Benfica’s response, Porto’s answer
Even reduced to 10 men, Benfica did not disappear from the contest. Six minutes after the interval, Prestianni delivered a fine cross and Alexander Bah guided a header past Diogo Costa to level the score.
The equaliser lasted only three minutes. Pablo Rosario played through André Silva, who moved the ball quickly to Victor Froholdt. The Danish midfielder restored Porto’s advantage with a powerful finish from inside the area.
With Benfica now carrying both a numerical disadvantage and a deficit on the scoreboard, Porto found a third. Silva again provided the final pass, setting up Hwang for a first-time strike. It was the South Korean’s maiden Porto goal, arriving on the day he turned 30.
The loudest welcome of the afternoon came in the 85th minute, when Aghehowa stepped onto the pitch. The 22-year-old Spain international had not played for Porto since suffering a right-knee injury, including damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, in a match on 9 February. The setback ended his previous season and ruled him out of the 2026 World Cup.
For Porto, the return of their leading scorer from recent campaigns added another positive note to a win that widened the gap at the summit. After eight league matches, the champions have 21 points, five clear of Benfica in second and six ahead of Sporting in third.
