Porto retain grip on Portuguese Cup

FC Porto have retained the Portuguese Cup, winning it for the 15th time in their history after defeating second-tier outfit GD Chaves 2-1 in a tight final at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras.

The outsiders almost took the lead when Edu hit a post then failed to beat goalkeeper Helton from the rebound on ten minutes, but Porto reacted strongly and went ahead just three minutes later, Fredy Guarín evading a defender on the right and firing low beyond Rego. Hulk found himself well-placed to double the advantage with 20 minutes gone only to spurn his chance with just Rego to beat, yet he quickly atoned for that miss by setting up Falcao for the second.

Porto then wasted a number of opportunities towards the end of the first half as they looked increasingly comfortable. The match was a far closer affair after the break, however, and Chaves gave themselves hope with five minutes remaining when Paulo Clemente took advantage of a Bruno Alves mistake to reduce the deficit. That nonetheless proved to be as close as they came and they lost Ricardo Rocha to a second yellow card late on, with Bruno Alves dismissed for Porto.

Looking back at the triumph, Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira commented: "It's my sixth trophy and we deserved to win, but I have to congratulate Chaves for a great match. We missed a lot of chances in the first half and played worse in the second, partly because of Chaves's good attitude but also because we didn't play as well as we could."