Nigerian defender Zaidu Sanusi stepped up in style on Monday night, scoring a crucial late goal to seal FC Porto’s ruthless 4-0 victory over Arouca in their Liga Portugal Round 7 clash.
The 28-year-old’s strike not only capped a dominant team performance but also displayed his enduring value to Porto in his sixth season at the club.
Sanusi’s super-sub impact lifts Porto past Arouca
Introduced in the 69th minute to replace Francisco Moura, Sanusi wasted no time making his presence felt.
Just 16 minutes later, he latched onto Alberto Costa’s pass and calmly slotted home Porto’s fourth goal at the Estádio Municipal de Arouca.
The goal was Sanusi’s first of the season in seven appearances, adding to his earlier assist.
His performance was as efficient as it was decisive—in only 21 minutes on the pitch, the Nigerian international, who last featured for the Super Eagles in 2023, had just seven touches but made them count.
Porto stay perfect despite early red card
Porto’s intent was clear from the outset. They opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Victor Froholdt set up Samuel Agbehowa, who coolly slotted the ball past goalkeeper João Valido to make it 1-0.
Only to face a setback shortly after halftime when Martim Fernandes was shown a second yellow card, leading to a red and leaving Porto with 10 men.
But the red card only spurred them on. Three minutes later, Pepê threaded a clever pass to Deniz Gul, who fired into the net to double the lead.
On the hour mark, Borja Sainz picked out Francisco Moura, whose precise finish into the bottom-right corner stretched the advantage to 3-0.
Sanusi then sealed the rout in the 85th minute, showing composure under pressure to guide the ball into the bottom-left corner.
With the win, Porto extended their perfect start to the season to seven victories, moving three points clear at the top of the Liga Portugal table.
Sanusi and his teammates will now head into their upcoming Europa League clash against FK Crvena Zvezda with huge confidence and momentum.
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