PortuGOAL Figure of the Week: Mehdi Taremi stars as Porto begin with a bang

Portugal’s Primeira Liga returned for the 2022/23 edition this weekend and with it PortuGOAL’s Figure of the Week series is back.

The opening round of fixtures’ standout game looked to be Braga vs Sporting and this premonition did not disappoint as the pair played out a 3-3 thriller.

League newcomers Rio Ave, Chaves and Casa Pia all struggled, failing to score in their respective matches although the latter did pick up a creditable point at Santa Clara.

Defending champions Porto looked hungry to retain their crown and started perfectly by battering Marítimo. Iranian frontman Mehdi Taremi grabbed two goals to continue his excellent recent form for the club.

Iran international striker Mehdi Taremi has looked to have stepped up his game in recent months, picking up from where he left off in last season’s Taça de Portugal final against Tondela, tormenting the same opponents in 2022/23’s curtain-raising Supertaça, scoring four times across the two games. After finishing second in the Liga Bwin scoring charts in the previous campaign, Taremi looks intent on going one better and securing Portugal's golden boot this time around.

The forward’s pre-season form of course is just one of many reasons Porto were looking to keep hold of one of their biggest stars, a desire more pertinent in the face of losing some massive names such as Vitinha and Fábio Vieira this summer, as well as Luis Díaz earlier in the year.

Taremi has formed a deadly partnership with Brazilian Evanilson over the past year or so and the duo were in no mood to let the defending champions’ first opponents of their defence Marítimo have it easy during Saturday evening’s contest at Estádio do Dragão.

Porto's striking options may have been familiar but manager Sérgio Conceição paired them ahead of a midfield diamond, an unfamiliar setup for the coach that has been successfully trialed in pre-season and the Supertaça.

The change in formation and Taremi’s aforementioned sharpness contributed to Porto taking the lead after only 12 minutes of the match. Left back Zaidu Sanusi did well to win the ball high up the pitch, before Evanilson fed Taremi to calmly slot past Marítimo goalkeeper Miguel Silva.

Marítimo threatened a way back into the match only to be thwarted by some Diogo Costa heroics in the home side’s goal, and Porto punished their misses by pulling away and virtually ending the contest before half time. First Evanilson smartly finished from João Mário’s cross, before Taremi predatorily pounced for this second of the match in the 42nd minute.

Another defensive error saw young English talent Danny Loader let in, and while his initial effort was saved by Silva, Taremi was lurking to bury the rebound.

Into the second half Porto set about extending their 3-0 lead and almost did so in the 53rd minute as Taremi came close to sealing a hat-trick. The Iranian linked firstly with Pepê, before receiving an Evanilson flick-on but Silva was equal to Taremi’s eventual somewhat scuffed effort on goal.

Iván Marcano and substitute Toni Martínez added gloss to the scoreline before a Cláudio Winck consolation effort for Marítimo rounded off proceedings, as there would be no Taremi treble on opening day.

However Porto’s Iranian star has set his stall out for the new season very early and already looks in ominous shape for defences across the country, as well as the Dragões’ rivals, who are looking to stop Porto from retaining the title for the first time since 2013.

By Jamie Farr

@FRfutebolJamie