Porto 2-0 Arouca: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings
Liga Portugal Matchday 3 · Sunday 23 August 2026 · Estádio Do Dragão, Porto · referee J. Silva Pinheiro · full time
Full time: Porto 2-0 Arouca
Porto won 2-0 at home to Arouca in Liga Portugal Matchday 3 on Sunday 23 August 2026. The goals: Gabri Veiga 67', Borja Sainz 86'.
How Porto won it
The opening goal came in the 67th minute: Gabri Veiga for Porto, set up by William Gomes. Borja Sainz made it 2-0 to Porto in the 86th minute, set up by Pepê.
It was 0-0 at half-time, and the second half changed the result.
The referee, J. Silva Pinheiro, showed 1 yellow card: 1 to Porto and 0 to Arouca.
Porto: F. Farioli, 4-3-3 · Arouca: V. Freire De Seabra, 4-2-3-1.
Moneyball's prediction against the result
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Why it went this way
On the day the expected goals were 0.45 for Porto and 2.69 for Arouca.
Porto scored about 1.6 more than their chances were worth: clinical finishing, or a goalkeeper having a bad day.
Arouca left about 2.7 goals' worth of chances on the pitch.
Arouca created the better chances, 2.69 xG to 0.45, and still lost. On chances alone, the result could easily have gone the other way.
Porto had 10 shots on target, Arouca 1.
Arouca's goalkeeper made 8 saves.
Porto had 53% of the ball and turned it into the win.
Where the two sides stood before this match
Porto came into it with 9 Liga Portugal matches played, scoring 2.3 and conceding 0.4 a match, with 2.20 expected goals for and 0.94 against, and had won 100% of their matches.
Arouca came into it with 9 Liga Portugal matches played, scoring 1.3 and conceding 0.8 a match, with 1.12 expected goals for and 1.29 against, and had won 56% of their matches.
Porto vs Arouca: the match in numbers
| Porto | Match statistics | Arouca |
|---|---|---|
| 53% | Ball possession | 47% |
| 0.45 | Expected goals (xG) | 2.69 |
| 23 | Total shots | 4 |
| 10 | Shots on target | 1 |
| 8 | Big chances | 1 |
| 463 | Total passes | 415 |
| 85% | Pass accuracy | 87% |
| 12 | Corners | 2 |
| 16 | Fouls | 8 |
| 5 | Offsides | 1 |
| 17 | Tackles | 15 |
| 1 | Saves | 8 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 0 |
Team statistics from Sportmonks.
Player ratings and man of the match
Man of the match: Gabri Veiga (Porto), rated 8.8 by Sportmonks, with 1 goal.
Porto
- Gabri Veiga 8.8 1 goal
- William Gomes 7.6 1 assist
- Borja Sainz 7.5 1 goal
- Alberto Costa 7.4
- Pepê 7.4 1 assist
Arouca
- Ignacio de Arruabarrena 8.3
- José Fontán 6.9
- Taichi Fukui 6.8
- Javi Sánchez 6.7
- Brian Mansilla 6.6
The lowest-rated starter was Orest Lebedenko at 6.0. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.
What comes next
- Porto: Porto vs Estoril Saturday 31 October 2026 · Liga Portugal
- Arouca: Arouca vs Nacional Sunday 1 November 2026 · Liga Portugal
Each preview has Moneyball's estimate for the next match, published before kick-off and marked against the result afterwards, as this one is.
Questions about Porto vs Arouca
What was the score in Porto vs Arouca?
Porto 2-0 Arouca (half-time 0-0), Liga Portugal, Sunday 23 August 2026.
Who scored in Porto vs Arouca?
Gabri Veiga 67', Borja Sainz 86'.
Did Moneyball predict Porto vs Arouca correctly?
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Who was man of the match in Porto vs Arouca?
Gabri Veiga, rated 8.8 by Sportmonks.
Who refereed Porto vs Arouca?
J. Silva Pinheiro.
Every match, before and after
Moneyball Odds writes a preview with its estimate before every match of Europe's top five leagues and the European cups, then marks it against the result, hits and misses alike.
Moneyball Odds is a statistical analysis site, not a bookmaker. No model predicts football reliably. For readers aged 18 and over.