Polish teenager Oskar Pietuszewski has been a revelation for FC Porto (Photo: Getty Images)
FC Porto remain on course to become champions of Portugal for the first time since 2021/22 after a ruthless performance saw off Moreirense at the Estádio do Dragão tonight.
When the Dragons signed 17-year-old Polish winger Oskar Pietuszewski in the winter transfer window, most observers of the Portuguese game thought the youngster was a “long-term project” and would feature little this season. Perhaps even some of the Porto staff shared that idea given that he was not even registered to play in the Europa League.
But Pietuszewski has exceeded expectations and has given Porto an extra attacking dimension, his direct, audacious and fearless offensive play lending more creativity and unpredictability to Francesco Farioli’s team.
After winning a crucial late penalty on his debut in Guimarães that resulted in a 1-0 victory for Porto, Pietuszewski has gone on to play 8 more games wearing the Blue and White, five as a starter, increasingly becoming a key player. In his last five matches he has scored three goals and provided one assist.
Tonight, he was at the heart of Porto’s first goal, his shot beaten out by Moreirense goalkeeper André Ferreira with Gabri Veiga knocking the rebound into the net. Pietuszewski himself doubled the lead with a fantastic angled shot after being picked out in the box by Victor Froholdt. 25 minutes gone, Porto 2-0 up and completely dominating.
Pietuszewski came close on two other occasions, lifting shots over the bar, before he was substituted in the 55th minute, Farioli later explaining that the Pole had been suffering from a virus during the week and had complained of more stomach pains during the interval.
Moreirense almost pulled a goal back early in the second half, Landerson hitting the post, but Porto remained firmly in control.
Terem Moffi forced Ferreira into a terrific save in the 69th minute before another Porto substitute, William Gomes, made the game safe with a trademark left-foot shot into the top corner cutting in from the right-hand side.
Porto go seven points clear of Lisbon duo Sporting (who have one game in hand) and Benfica, with eight matches remaining.
Benfica came from behind to beat Arouca thanks to a goal in the last minute of stoppage time by Franjo Ivanovic.
The hosts got off to the perfect start when they were awarded a penalty from their first attack, António Silva handling Barbero’s header. The Spanish striker confidently fired in the penalty.
Benfica reacted well to the setback and put Arouca under intense pressure, winning a series of corners, one of which resulted in a golden chance for Alexander Bah but the defender headed wide.
Arouca almost doubled their lead when Barbero headed wide from close range after a well-worked counter-attack.
The home team went close again at the start of the second half, Hynju’s shot kept out of the net by a last-ditch interception by Tomás Araújo.
Ríos equaliser
In an open game Benfica’s Dodi Lukebakio was denied by a brilliant save by Arruabarrena, but from the resulting corner the visitors equalised. Richard Ríos profited from slack marking by Arouca to head into the net without even having to jump.
Benfica surged forward in search of the go-ahead goal, Pavlidis and Schjelderup going close but the chances dried up for the Eagles.
Arouca were a whisker away from retaking the lead in the 84th minute with Dylan Nandín could not direct his header on target when he looked certain to score.
Benfica threw everything at Arouca in the final minutes, substitutes Gianluca Prestianni and Georgiy Sudakov close to scoring.
Just when it seemed José Mourinho’s team would have to settle for a draw, another substitute, Ivanovic, got on the end of a Prestianni cross and expertly executed a right-foot volley to give the three points to Benfica.
Rodrigo Zalazar has improved season on season at Braga to become arguably the most complete midfielder in Portugal. (Photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
The PortuGOAL Figure of the Week series returns for the Liga Portugal Midfielder of the Month (February) and one of the top performers of the entire season.
From dispatching set-pieces with unflappable composure against Sporting Clube de Portugal…
… to the synergy created with modern day Braga legend Ricardo Horta, in the same match, with a phenomenal first-touch deserving of the emphatic finish.
The Uruguayan midfielder has been Liga Portugal’s most incisive and effective player in the final third for a significant stretch of this season.
PortuGOAL’s latest Figure of the Week is one of the best players in Portuguese football. Kevin Fernandes reports.
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Like father like son
Rodrigo Zalazar Martínez was born in Albacete, Spain, as his father José Luis was capping off his professional career back at the Queso Mecánico in 1999.
Rodrigo, aged eight, joined the youth ranks of the club his father represented on 230 occasions. After seven years in the youth set-up of Albacete Balompié, spells at the prestigious academy of Málaga and later San Félix completed his footballing education before a move to Germany.
The services of Zalazar cost Eintracht Frankfurt around 50 thousand euros in a typical, surgical operation carried out by former Director of Football Ben Manga.
German journalist Christopher Michel told zerozero.pt: “The fans adored him, partly because of his unique emotive nature.” The son of El Oso (The Bear) embodies the same fiery spirit, seen repeatedly across his career, from controversial social media posts to bizarre interviews praising Braga’s competitors.
The rise of El Osito
Zalazar would never make it to the Frankfurt first team, heading to Polish outfit Korona Kielce before seriously kicking off his senior career at FC St. Pauli. Despite contributing to 11 goals in 35 appearances, current Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner was not convinced, trusting more established senior names.
Zalazar’s ambitions were always crystal clear: to play regularly at the top level. Schalke offered that pathway when Frankfurt seemed skeptical, and Zalazar truly led the fallen giants back to the Bundesliga on a temporary deal subsequently made permanent.
Relegation may have become reality for Schalke once more, but it was always apparent that Zalazar would repeat the same storyline, only this time an opportunity to play in the Champions League presented itself.
Zalazar told Uruguayan radio station Carve Deportiva: “I’m doing really well at the moment, though it took me a while to settle in. Moving to a new country and a new league is tricky. Even so, when I joined SC Braga, I was really surprised by the league, because it’s very physical and demands everything from you in every match because the teams have some very good players.”
It’s safe to say that Zalazar has justified the six million euros spent – 61 goal contributions in 118 matches (and counting) – puts Zalazar amongst the best in Braga’s history and in an era of real promise for the northern club.
Zippy Zalazar
Recognised as Footballer of the Year at Braga’s annual Legião de Ouro awards, Zalazar has the mobility of a decently rounded box-to-box midfielder and the technique of a seasoned top-level winger, operating with an effortless grace while on the ball, despite being recognisably robust without it.
Able to fulfil deeper or more aggressive offensive midfield roles, on either side, and in multiple systems, the 26-year-old is mentally well-rounded, versatile and consistently displays an incredible instinct and incisive nature in the final-third.
Standing at 5’10” or 1.77m, El Osito is a receiver in progressive play who is mainly looking to provide decisive touches, despite being capable, resilient and direct when space arises to carry the ball. As mentioned earlier regarding his understanding with Horta, Zalazar is a protagonist of a fluid attack on the same wavelength, able to find teammates with ease and wreaking havoc with simple one-twos and short combinations.
However, he truly comes into his own when zoning in on the penalty area, mastering the art of exploring and manipulating space, technically impressive when operating in tight spaces and incredibly composed when assisting or taking responsibility for the final touch.
Braga president António Salvador has serious ambitions of breaking the hegemony of the commonly recognised Portuguese “Big 3”, which is closer to becoming reality with players of the quality of Rodrigo Zalazar.
However, reports suggest that the 50-million-euro release clause may not be enough to deter potential suitors in Rodrigo’s pursuit of reaching the top.
When questioned about his future, Zalazar admitted: “Right now I’m very focused on helping my team and very happy at Sp. Braga. In the summer we’ll see what happens with my future and with the World Cup, which I hope to be part of.”
(Side note: In the same unauthorised interview, Zalazar called Benfica “the Real Madrid of Portugal,” repeatedly praising the club and multiple players)
It was probably long overdue, but it’s a pleasure to recognise the brilliant talent that one could argue is the best midfielder in Liga Portugal. Wherever the future of the latest PortuGOAL Figure of the Week lies, Rodrigo Zalazar still has much to offer Braga and Portuguese football in the remaining months of the season.
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Honourable mentions from Gameweek 25 (despite the six stalemates in nine matches):
Rodrigo Pinheiro - The difference maker for Famalicão with an impressive finish against Arouca.
Paulo Moreira - Estrela’s standout performer of the season contributes to Jovane Cabral’s goal with a touch of class.
Oskar Pietuszewski - 17 years of age and doing this to a World Cup winner at the Estadio da Luz.
Jalen Blesa - One of the January recruits breathing life back into Rio Ave’s season.
Rodrigo Mora celebrates scoring Porto’s second goal at the Stuttgart Arena. (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
FC Porto secured a precious advantage at a difficult venue as they beat Stuttgart 2-1 in the first leg of their last-16 Europa League tie in Germany this afternoon.
The hosts started strongly but Porto weathered the storm and took control of proceedings thanks to a blistering 10-minute spell midway through the first half.
It started when William Gomes did his trademark move, cutting in from the right touchline and smashing a left-footed effort onto the bar.
One minute later Porto took the lead. January signing Terem Moffi played a lovely one-two with Borja Sainz and beat Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel with a firm right-foot shot.
Fofana then went close before Moffi almost scored his and Porto’s second of the night, Nübel this time saving well after the Nigerian had been released by an excellent Seko Fofana through ball.
Porto were all over Stuttgart at this stage and doubled their lead when Zaidu Sanusi showed fantastic awareness by intercepting a loose pass on the halfway line, racing up the left flank and crossing for Rodrigo Mora to calmly slot into the corner of the net on the volley.
With the home team all at sea, Porto were threatening to put the tie to bed there and then, but the hosts got back into the game in the 40th minute when Deniz Undav swivelled neatly and volleyed home.
Porto were deserving of their 2-1 lead at the interval but the second half was a different story with Stuttgart enjoying the upper hand for most of it.
Angelo Stiller thought he had equalised in the 73rd minute, thumping the ball into the net after Porto’s defence had failed to deal with a free kick, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for offside.
There were half chances for both teams but with no further scoring Porto will start next week’s second leg at the Estádio do Dragão with a narrow advantage.
It was a disappointing night in the Europe League for Braga as Carlos Vicens’ team were beaten 2-0 by Ferencvaros in the Hungarian capital.
Despite starting the tie as favourites, the Portuguese outfit can have no arguments about the result with the hosts showing greater energy and enterprise throughout the 90 minutes.
A goal in each half by Gabi Kanichowsky and the excellent Lenny Joseph gives Robbie Keane’s team real hope of reaching the quarter-finals of the competition.
Braga will need a much-improved display at the Quarry next Wednesday if they are to continue what had been a superb European campaign this season – 10 wins and 1 defeat in 14 matches – until tonight.
