Super Eagles defender Zaidu Sanusi came off the bench as Porto beat Napoli 4–1 at the Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday to claim their first victory of the Champions League league phase, Bold Sports reports.
The Nigerian replaced Martim Fernandes in the 67th minute with the score level at 1–1. Porto regained the lead four minutes later and added two more goals to turn a tight contest into a convincing win over the Italian visitors.
Jan Bednarek headed Porto ahead from a corner in the 11th minute, but Scott McTominay equalised two minutes before half-time. Gabri Veiga restored the hosts’ advantage in the 71st minute before Jakub Kiwior and Samu Aghehowa completed the scoring.
Sanusi played the final 23 minutes of regulation time, recording 11 completed passes from 12 attempts. His appearance followed a half-time withdrawal in Porto’s 4–0 league victory over Estoril at the weekend. He had returned to unrestricted training before the Napoli match.
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The opening goal gave Francesco Farioli’s side an early foothold, with Bednarek meeting Veiga’s corner to put the hosts in front. Napoli responded and had an effort by Rasmus Højlund disallowed for offside before eventually drawing level.
The equaliser came after a sequence of saves by Diogo Costa. The Porto goalkeeper stopped Matteo Politano’s curling shot and then denied Højlund after Kevin De Bruyne recycled the ball. McTominay finished the rebound to send the teams into the interval level.
Farioli introduced Samu in the 56th minute, then made a double change 11 minutes later, bringing on Sanusi and Santiago Giménez for Fernandes and Borja Sainz.
Giménez helped provide the breakthrough, supplying Veiga for the goal that made it 2–1. Kiwior extended the advantage with a header from another corner in the 80th minute, giving Porto a two-goal cushion heading into the closing stages.
Napoli’s evening deteriorated further when Rafa Marín fouled Samu inside the penalty area and was sent off. Samu converted the resulting spot-kick in the 90th minute to complete the scoring.
Porto had entered the match without a point after defeats to Manchester City, Real Betis and PSV Eindhoven. The result gives them three points from four league-phase fixtures and improves their position ahead of the remaining four rounds.
For Sanusi, the substitute appearance also provided further competitive minutes before Nigeria’s November Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Tanzania. The Super Eagles host the first meeting on 13 November before the return fixture four days later.
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