Porto defeated Napoli 4-1 at the “Estádio do Dragão” in a fourth-round match of the league phase of the Champions League. The hosts took an early lead, the Italian side equalised before half-time, but after the break the Portuguese team secured a convincing victory with three more goals.
Jan Bednarek opened the scoring in the 11th minute. The defender headed home from a corner taken by Gabri Veiga. Napoli responded late in the first half, when Scott McTominay restored parity in the 43rd minute.
The hosts moved ahead again in the 71st minute. Gabri Veiga received a pass from Santiago Giménez and finished the attack with a low shot that went between Alex Meret’s legs.
Porto continued to attack and scored a third goal in the 80th minute. Jakub Kiwior was left unmarked from another set-piece situation and headed home to make it 3-1. Four minutes later, Bednarek came close to scoring a second, but his shot struck the crossbar.
Napoli were reduced to ten men in the 88th minute. Rafa Marín fouled Samu Omorodion in the penalty area when he was through on goal, for which he received a straight red card, and Porto were awarded a penalty. The Spanish forward converted from the spot in the 90th minute to make it 4-1. The match chronology and goalscorers were confirmed by “Eurosport”.
A total of six yellow cards and one red card were shown in the match. The victory ended Porto’s run of three consecutive defeats in the competition.
After four matches, Porto are 26th in the league phase with three points and a goal difference of 6:7. Napoli are 27th, also with three points, but with a worse goal difference of 6:11. The standings are presented in a single table, as the Champions League no longer has a traditional group stage from the 2024/25 season onwards.
Before the match, Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri warned:
“If we do not play a match with great suffering, we will come out with broken bones.”
In the next round, on 24 November, Porto will travel to Feyenoord, while Napoli will host Manchester City. The matches are part of the fifth round of the league phase.