The away game at the "Marítimo" stadium hid all the prerequisites for a real trap in Porto's invincible run. The "Blue and Whites", however, left Funchal with a pragmatic 1-0 victory, securing three extremely important points in the battle for the title. In addition to consolidating the leadership position in the championship, the triumph on the island of Madeira closed a perfect circle for Francesco Farioli: the Italian coach has now won against absolutely all the opponents he has faced in the Portuguese League since he took charge of the grand.
Last season, in his debut year on the bench of the “dragons“, Farioli recorded an almost flawless campaign on the domestic stage, dealing with almost all the competition. However, there was a single exception to the Italian's assets – Benfica. In the two clashes against the big rival Porto, he only managed a goalless draw (0:0) on his own field and a 2:2 draw at “Estadio da Luz“.
However, this small thorn in the specialist's path was finally removed in the current 2026/2027 season. Already at the home of the “eagles“ Porto demonstrated a clear superiority and outplayed its opponent 3:1, writing off the rival from the list of unfulfilled tasks. All that remained was to compete with the newcomers from the second echelon to complete the map of victories against all clubs in the elite. With the authoritative classic success 3:0 as a guest of Academico de Viseu and the tortured victory of “Barreiros“ against Maritimo, Farioli consolidated its absolute dominance over its rivals in the Portuguese football elite.
This achievement of one hundred percent efficiency becomes even more impressive against the backdrop of the whirlwind start that the team is making in the 2026/2027 season. By recording an eighth consecutive success in the first eight rounds of the championship, Francesco Farioli has inscribed his name in an extremely prestigious and narrow circle of great coaches in the history of Porto.
In the more than ninety-year history of the national championship, only two coaches had managed to open the championship with eight consecutive victories at the helm of the “blue and white“: the legendary Miguel Sisca in the distant 1939/1940 season and Gesualdo Ferreira in the memorable 2007/2008 campaign. Almost two decades after the last such achievement, the young Italian strategist joined this elite club, proving that his precise tactical approach and the established mentality of a winner leave a lasting mark on the club.
Francesco Farioli's Porto is not just winning, but demonstrating impressive stability and exceptional adaptability to different game situations – from a key derby at the “Estadio do Dragao“ to a treacherous away trip to the islands. After subduing absolutely every opponent and continuing to rewrite history match after match, the march of the “blue and white“ is gaining increasingly dominant dimensions on the Portuguese football scene, and winning a second consecutive championship title remains the big goal for the “dragons“.