FC Porto B vs Academica

With no official timeline of goals published, the decisive phase appears to have been Académica’s ability to build a multi-goal lead before Porto B could respond. The visitors, preparing for their return to the second tier under António Barbosa, were the sharper side in the final third.

João Brandão used 24 players across the 90 minutes, rolling through a deep squad that included six players who had been training with the first team under manager Francesco Farioli: Gonçalo Ribeiro, Yoan Pereira, Gabriel Brás, Eirik Granaas, Mateus Mide and Eduardo Ferreira. Their presence in this friendly — rather than in the senior squad’s presentation match against Aston Villa later that evening — indicated they had been moved to the B-team group for the coming season.

Domingos Muxito (FC Porto B) — The forward scored Porto B’s only goal and continues to be a reliable option in the final third during pre-season.

Afonso Rodrigues, Marcos Paulo, Hugo Nunes (Académica) — Each found the net for the “Briosa,” demonstrating the attacking depth António Barbosa will count on in the II Liga campaign ahead.

Martim Chelmik (FC Porto B) — The defender, who recently signed a contract renewal until 2031, was declared fit by the medical department and played without restrictions, a positive sign after an undisclosed issue.

The provider data shows a 1-3 final scoreline but no detailed match statistics (possession, shots, xG) were captured for this friendly. The 24 players used by FC Porto B reflects the experimental nature of the fixture — Brandáo rotated heavily, typical of a third pre-season outing. The six first-team returnees in the squad suggest the B side is being reinforced with younger talent that impressed in senior pre-season under Farioli.

Historically, this fixture tends to produce goals: 82% of the 11 meetings between these sides have seen both teams score, and 82% have gone over 2.5 goals, averaging 3.27 per match. Saturday’s result followed that pattern.

For Académica, the win builds momentum ahead of their II Liga opener away to Chaves on 8 August. The club earned promotion back to the second division and will be looking for a competitive start.

FC Porto B begin their league campaign two days later, on 10 August, away to Lusitânia Lourosa. Before that, the squad travels to Quiaios, Figueira da Foz on Monday 27 July for a week-long training camp running until 2 August.

Five players were unavailable for this fixture: André Oliveira and Brayan Caicedo (both in treatment/gym), Gonçalo Sousa and Mame Niang (effort management), and Trafim Melnichenka (conditioned training).

A routine pre-season workout for both sides. Académica looked sharper in front of goal, while FC Porto B used the run-out to integrate players moving down from the first-team setup. The result itself carries little weight — the scoreline matters less than the fitness and squad cohesion gained — but the “Briosa” will take confidence from a convincing attacking display ahead of their II Liga return.