Porto beat Alverca 2-0 in the opening round of the Primeira Liga on Sunday evening. The hosts took all three points with two penalty strikes, keeping their record of five wins from five matches intact. Alverca remain rooted to 17th place with just two points from their opening five fixtures.
And here's the thing about penalties — they decide games when everything else is level. Andre Silva made it 1-0 in the ninth minute, and Gabriel Veiga doubled the lead just before half-time. Both came after fouls in the box, and Porto's clinical edge showed through immediately.
Alverca absorbed pressure for long stretches but struggled to create clear-cut chances. Their expected goals figure of 1.66 tells you they got opportunities, just not the right ones. Porto's xG of 2.59 suggests they should have scored more, but two is enough when you're leading.
The substitutions tell a story of control. Porto brought on William Gomes in the 58th minute, while Alverca tried to respond with Ian Luccas and M. Fernandes both coming on at the 74th minute. G. Veiga was withdrawn at 75 — a manager's choice to rest the goalscorer rather than risk fatigue.
By then the game was effectively over. Porto completed 404 passes against Alverca's 341, but it wasn't possession alone that mattered. They won 13 of 17 aerial duels, and their 13 fouls compared to Alverca's 10 showed a physical edge when needed. The yellow cards — four for the visitors, none for Porto — reflected Alverca's frustration.
To be fair, Alverca's goalkeeper made five saves to Porto's two, which says something about the quality of chances created. But Porto's four shots on target against Alverca's five on target doesn't tell the full story. The hosts' accuracy of 40% versus the visitors' 33% matters more in the end.
The result keeps Porto top of the table with 15 points from five games. Alverca have not won since their opening day and now face a difficult run. Three goals in two penalty kicks, and Porto have put the game to bed early. The table goes out of the window in these games, but this one was decided in the first 45 minutes.