Porto picked up an important three points in the Primeira Liga after a comfortable 2-0 win against Braga.
The Dragons went ahead in the 12th minute when Fábio Cardoso got on the end of Francisco Conceição’s free kick and headed past Matheus.
Diogo Costa denied Ricardo Horta in the 32nd minute, but that was as close as the visitors came to finding the net.
Evanilson won and converted a penalty in the 49th minute which killed the contest at Estádio do Dragão.
The Dragons remain five points behind Sporting Clube de Portugal and four behind Benfica, the Primeira Liga back to being a three horse race.
Porto take control early
Porto monopolised possession from the opening whistle but were unable to fashion enough quality chances to test Matheus.
It took ten minutes before Braga managed to string some passes together, the visitors lacking any significant penetration and Abel Ruiz isolated up front.
The Dragons took the lead in the 12trh minute after being awarded a free kick near the touchline. Francisco Conceição delivered the ball into the danger area where Fábio Cardoso headed home from close range.
Braga finally managed to advance into an attacking position in the 24th minute, Álvaro Djaló surging into the box and dragging his effort well wide.
The Porto supporters were becoming increasingly unhappy with referee Hélder Malheiro after he failed to immediately punish Ricardo Horta for a foul on Evanilson. Pepê Aquino voiced his displeasure which saw the Brazilian become the first player booked.
Braga continued their spell of pressure and went close in the 32nd minute, Cristián Borja’s cross met by Horta who was denied by Diogo Costa.
Porto had the final chance in the first half, Pepê’s shot blocked by José Fonte.
Game over
The contest was effectively over four minutes after the resumption of play after Borja lost possession in a dangerous position. Matheus came off his line and took out Evanilson which saw Malheiro point to the spot.
Evanilson stepped up and rolled the ball down the middle, the in-form striker schooling Matheus for the second time in quick succession.
Djaló headed Horta’s cross wide and Zalazar volleyed over the bar before Vitor Carvalho made way for André Horta in the 59th minute.
A battered and bruised Evanlison was replaced by Toni Martínez in the 68th minute, Artur Jorge almost resigned to defeat when he brought on Adrián Marín and Roger Fernandes for Borja and Zalazar seven minutes later.
What appeared to be a formality with 40 minutes remaining became just that, Porto strolling to victory with plenty of gas left in the tank.
Analysis
It’s surprising that it took Sérgio Conceição so long to start Galeno and Francisco Conceição together, the wingers selected in the starting side for just the third time this season and second within a week.
The manager was almost forced into abandoning his favoured 4-4-2 after Fran Navarro’s loan move to Olympiacos and Mehdi Taremi on the verge of leaving the club when he returns from representing Iran at the Asian Cup.
It's working well, Evanilson hitting a hat-trick in the convincing 4-0 win at Estoril in the Taça de Portugal and scoring again here to make it 13 goals and three assists in 18 appearances this season. He is an all action player on all parts of the pitch, has etablished himself as the first choice up front and could thrive with Galeno and Conceição occupying defenders out wide.
Alan Varela and Nico González have a lot of potential and offer the defence plenty of protection and Stephen Eustáquio is sure to come back into contention. Iván Jaime waits for more opportunities and Pepê Aquino is hardly a natural #10, so there is room for improvement in the playmaker role.
As average as the Dragons were in the first half of the season, they are still within striking distance in the Primeira Liga, are into the Taça de Portugal quarter-finals and face Arsenal in the Champions League Round of 16.
Braga hardly looked like scoring in Porto in what was one of their poorest performances this season. Sikou Niakaté and Simon Banza, away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations, continue to be missed.
The Warriors can't keep clean sheets and Artur Jorge has a lot of work to do before his side face Sporting CP in the Taça da Liga semi-finals in nine days.
By Matthew Marshall at Estádio do Dragão
