Sanusi sees red as 10-man Porto defeat Gil Vicente

Porto defeated Gil Vicente 1-0 in Saturday’s Primeira Liga encounter, with Zaidu Sanusi getting sent off.

With just 16 minutes to the end of the game, the Nigeria international was shown the way out by referee Helder Malheiro for a second caution.

Having earned a draw against Santa Clara and Tondela, the Roosters went to Estadio do Dragao with the ambition of compounding the woes of the Dragons, who had gone on a run of three games without a win.

In a tight first-half, they were able to curtail the hosts, whose attacking line was anchored by Fabio Vieira and Toni Martinez. For Porto, they had Sanusi and Mateus Uribe cautioned in the 26th and 30th minutes, respectively.

Four minutes before the half-time break, Sergio Conceicao’s Porto took the lead through Evanilson following a good combination between Zaidu and Japan’s Shoya Nakajima.

Nakajima sent a low pass to Evanilson who wasted no time to beat goalkeeper Denis. That was the Brazilian’s first goal for the reigning Portuguese champions since joining from Fluminense.

In the second half, the hosts continued with their strong attacking display and they almost doubled their lead but Romario Baro’s goalbound shot was blocked by Ygor Nogueira’s elbow.

Referee Malheiro pointed to the spot as goalkeeper Denis saved a poor penalty taken by the Colombia international midfielder.

Despite dominating ball possession and boasting of more scoring chances, Porto could not add to their tally as they wasted several begging chances. Their lead was threatened in the 74th minute after Zaidu was shown the way out for a second caution.

Notwithstanding the hosts’ numerical disadvantage, Gil Vicente were unable to produce a late comeback as they lost their first game of the 2020-21 Portuguese topflight campaign.

Chancel Mbemba was in action from start to finish, while Malian forward Moussa Marega replaced Jesus Corona in the 90th minute. Senegal's duo of Mouhamed Mbaye and Mamadou Loum, as well as Guinea Bissau's Nanu, were not listed for the game.

For the visitors, Senegal's Souleymane Aw and Nigeria's Ahmed Isaiah were unused substitutes.

Porto are second in the log after garnering 10 points from five games - two points behind leaders Benfica who have an outstanding game. Vítor Oliveira's Roosters are ranked 10th with five points from four games.