Francesco Farioli says Porto's hunger and team spirit are driving their flawless start

A flawless start built on collective effort

Porto have won each of their first seven Primeira Liga matches this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding just three. For Francesco Farioli, the Italian coach who took charge in July 2025, the results reflect a squad that is hungrier and more determined than before. The defending champions, who won their first league title since 2021-22 last season, are now aiming to win back-to-back Primeira Liga titles for the first time since a run of three between 2010-11 and 2012-13.

Farioli inherited a club in need of change. Porto finished third in 2024-25, their second consecutive third-place finish and the first time they had finished outside the top two in back-to-back campaigns since the mid-1970s. Their 71-point tally was their lowest in a 34-game season since 2004-05. Three different managers had overseen the team that campaign, including Vítor Bruno, Martín Anselmi and interim boss José Tavares.

"Since the first moment I spoke with the president [André Villas-Boas], for me, the decision to join the club was clear and now, I can say of course that it was the right decision," Farioli told Opta Analyst. "Both myself and the club, we felt the same level of desire, the same level of commitment in changing things and adapting ourselves in order to click."

Rebuilding the squad

The summer recruitment focused on players with the right mentality. Victor Froholdt arrived from Copenhagen, Gabri Veiga from Al-Ahli and Borja Sainz from Norwich City to add energy to midfield and attack. At the back, Jan Bednarek joined from Southampton, Alberto Costa from Juventus and Jakub Kiwior from Arsenal.

Those signings helped Porto concede the fewest goals of any team across Europe's top 10 leagues last season, with 18, and keep the most clean sheets, with 21. Farioli, however, credits the whole group rather than goalkeeper Diogo Costa and the back four alone.

"If you look at individuals, having a goalkeeper like Diogo Costa is definitely an advantage, but I truly believe that these numbers come from a collective effort."

He pointed to winger William Gomes, who has won possession in the final third in the Primeira Liga nine times this season, the most of any Porto player, as an example of that shared responsibility.

Intensity as a team virtue

Farioli said the team's identity depends on effort off the ball as much as quality on it. "I believe there are certain behaviours that are quite contagious. Running those extra meters, putting in the extra effort, the desire to run for my team-mate when it's close to the end of the match is something that is a positive virus and this is what our team has," he said.

He also stressed the need for players to react quickly when they lose possession, saying the group from striker to goalkeeper must be committed to helping the team in those moments.

The threat of the wide players

Across nearly 16 months in charge, one constant in Farioli's side has been the role of the wingers, who push high and wide to stretch the pitch and are asked to deliver goals and assists. "Of course, the position of the winger, especially in the way that we play, is one of the main threats, not just for them to be wide, but sometimes further inside, according to what the game at that point needs," he said. "It is something that helps a lot with our chance creation."

Adversity and the Samu Aghehowa injury

The season has not been without setbacks. Last season, talisman Samu Aghehowa, who had scored 20 goals in 32 matches across all competitions, suffered a devastating ACL injury in February that ruled him out for the rest of the campaign, just as Porto were in the title race, in the Europa League and in the domestic cup.

"It was a stone in the face for all of us, for the players, for the whole squad," Farioli recalled.

The interview was cut short in the available text before Farioli elaborated on how the squad responded to that blow.