Porto thrash Famalicão 4-1 to set up Taça de Portugal quarter-final with Benfica

The draw for the next round of the Taça de Portugal has delivered the fixture most Portuguese supporters wanted: FC Porto’s emphatic 4-1 victory over Famalicão sets up an early-January showdown with eternal rivals Benfica. From the tactical tweaks that unlocked the win to the historical backdrop colouring the upcoming clássico, here is how Thursday night’s result reshapes the cup narrative.

What you need to know — fast

• Dragões cruise 4-1 past Famalicão and book a quarter-final at home to Benfica on 14 January.

• Goals from William Gomes, Victor Froholdt, Samu and Pepê underline Porto’s attacking depth.

• New coach Francesco Farioli continues an intense pressing blueprint that suffocated the visitors.

• Body-cam refereeing and a string of VAR interventions keep officiating in the spotlight.

• Elsewhere, Sporting, União de Leiria, AVS and Torreense have also advanced.

A cold December night, a hot Porto start

A sparse but vocal crowd at the Estádio do Dragão barely had time to settle before William Gomes pounced on a defensive lapse to fire Porto ahead inside seven minutes. The early strike did not kill the tie: Justin De Haas levelled with a towering header, reminding the hosts that cup football rarely follows the script. Yet as the half wore on, Porto’s ball-winning high up the pitch produced dividends. Victor Froholdt, freshly crowned Denmark’s Footballer of the Year, punished another turnover to restore the lead on 38 minutes. The second period told a familiar story: Famalicão’s energy ebbed, Porto’s bench added fresh legs, and late goals from substitute Samu and the ever-inventive Pepê turned a competitive match into a comfortable margin.

Under the hood: Farioli’s pressure engine

Replacing the hugely successful Sérgio Conceição was never going to be straightforward, yet Francesco Farioli is gradually imprinting his identity. Thursday’s XI featured academy full-back Martim Fernandes and winter signing Deniz Gül, but the structure remained recognisable: a 4-3-3 morphing into a front-six press the moment possession was lost. Key ingredients:

• Positional rotations between Froholdt, Gabri Veiga and Rosario kept Famalicão guessing.

• Set-piece routines continue to be rehearsed obsessively; Porto have now scored from dead-ball situations in five consecutive matches.

• The goalkeeper discussion is quieter after Diogo Costa’s error-free evening — his distribution jump-starts attacks in ways understudy Cláudio Ramos cannot.Farioli admitted afterward that “ball recovery in the final third” remains the priority, a line that hints at relentless training-ground drills.

All eyes on 14 January: the clássico returns to the north

Benfica’s visit will be the 259th competitive meeting between the giants and the first in the Taça at the Dragão since 2021, when Porto swept to a 3-0 win. Recent history in the cup tilts blue and white — three wins on the spin — yet the Lisbon side still boast a record 26 trophies compared with Porto’s 20. In league play, Roger Schmidt has steadied Benfica away from home, snatching as many points in Porto as at Luz over the past decade. Ticket demand is already frantic; members’ pre-sales reportedly exceeded stadium capacity within two hours on Friday morning.

How to follow the match from Portugal — and beyond

Broadcast rights remain with the public network RTP; the kickoff slot will be fixed once scheduling talks with the Liga and local authorities conclude. Expect a prime-time window. Supporters travelling north should note rail-replacement works between Aveiro and Gaia that weekend; CP plans additional services but warns of longer journey times. The Dragão Metro station will run its usual match-day frequency, and police intend to segregate supporter flows to the east stand.

The wider bracket: who else is alive?

The quarter-final landscape still includes several outsiders dreaming of a Jamor appearance:

• Sporting (holders) vs Santa Clara

• União de Leiria vs AVS

• Torreense await Monday’s final round-of-16 tie to learn their opponentCup romantics will note that Torreense and Leiria last tasted Jamor in the early 1990s, adding charm to a bracket otherwise dominated by the big three.

Voices from the dugout

Farioli kept the focus narrow: “We end the year at Alverca first; 2026 can wait,” he smiled, refusing to be lured into clássico hype. In contrast, Benfica’s camp has remained publicly silent. Club sources say Schmidt will rotate heavily in his own round-of-16 fixture this weekend, mindful of mounting injuries to Ángel di María and Alexander Bah.

Referees, cameras and controversy

The Portuguese federation’s trial of referee bodycams drew mixed reviews. While transparency advocates praised the additional angle, coaches fretted about privacy in heated exchanges. Thursday’s tie avoided major flashpoints, yet Farioli still pushed for “urgent measures” to standardise VAR thresholds, echoing concerns voiced by Santa Clara after a disputed penalty in Lisbon.

Key numbers (skim-friendly)

• 4-1 — Porto’s winning margin, their joint-largest this season.• 11 — Shots inside the box created by the Dragões, compared with Famalicão’s 3.• 74 % — Home possession share, underscoring territorial dominance.• 9 — Consecutive domestic home wins for Porto across all competitions.• 102 vs 93 — Porto’s overall head-to-head edge on Benfica, all competitions counted.

Porto may dismiss talk of Benfica already, but the rest of the country cannot. January’s clássico will not decide the champion, yet it could shape momentum for the months that follow — and in the Taça de Portugal, momentum often proves decisive all the way to Jamor.