Benfica walked into a hostile Estadio do Dragao but certainly weren’t overawed by the occasion and took the game to Porto.
Heorhiy Sudakov came close to making an early mark when he burst down the left and saw a goal-bound effort blocked by the legs of Jan Bednarek, and as the pressure began to grow, another big chance came and went when Gianluca Prestianni headed over Rafa Silva’s cross at the far post.
Alexander Bah came even closer moments later when his volley was headed off the line by Pablo Rosario, but several big chances coming and going begged the question of whether the visitors would live to regret them.
The answer to that question was an emphatic ‘yes’, as Porto made their rivals pay in brutal fashion.
Estadio do Dragao hit fever pitch on 31 minutes when Pepe’s floated delivery over the top was plucked out of the sky by Gabri Veiga, who managed to squeeze an effort underneath Samuel Soares with just enough purchase to trickle over the line.
Things went from bad to worse for Marco Silva’s side less than five minutes later when a petulant flick of the hand in the face of Andre Silva earned Clement Lenglet a red card and left Benfica with a huge mountain to climb after the break.
Clearly undeterred by the task ahead of them, whatever Silva said to his side at half-time did the trick as his team hit straight back.
Prestianni proved to be elusive to the Porto defence down the left, and he whipped in a perfect delivery which landed perfectly on the head of Bah to turn home an unlikely equaliser.
That proved to be the wake-up call Francesco Farioli’s men needed to spark back into action, reestablishing their advantage three minutes after losing it when Victor Froholdt swept into the bottom corner from the edge of the area after being teed up by Silva.
Keen to leave nothing in doubt this time, Porto added a third on the hour mark through Hwang In-beom, who peeled away from his marker inside the area and fired Silva’s cut back high into the roof of the net.
Several chances for Porto to add insult to Benfica’s injuries came and went, but with bragging rights assured, their evening’s work was long since done, as they laid down a huge early marker in their quest to retain their Primeira Liga crown.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pablo Rosario (Porto)