Francesco Farioli changed both the shape and the mood of FC Porto’s trip to Casa Pia in Rio Maior, giving Inbeom his first start and adjusting the defence as the team tried to steady itself after a 0-2 home loss to Manchester City. Victor Froholdt was involved in the week’s preparations despite doubts over a concussion suffered a week earlier, while several players remained unavailable.
The timing explains why Casa Pia Vs Porto drew so much attention. Porto had opened the season with six wins in its first six games, but that perfect run had just been broken, and Farioli made clear he did not want the club wasting energy on the Benfica clásico before getting through this match. Porto’s aim was simple: take three points in Rio Maior and go into the Dragão clásico still carrying momentum.
Inbeom’s inclusion was the clearest sign that Farioli was looking beyond a routine lineup choice. The coach had already been forced to manage a squad missing Zaidu Sanusi, Vasco Sousa, André Miranda, Oskar Pietuszewski and Samu Aghehowa, so the changes in front of Diogo Costa mattered as much as the selection in midfield. After Porto came away from the Manchester City match without a shot on target against Gigi Donnarumma, the response on the road could not be symbolic. It had to look sharper from the first minute.
Casa Pia, meanwhile, entered the match last in the I Liga Betclic with one point and no goals scored, even if its first point had arrived in a 0-0 draw in Guimarães the previous week. The numbers told the story of a team still searching for a way to survive at this level: 11 goals conceded before meeting Porto, including seven at home against Benfica. That is why the match in Rio Maior was more than a routine away trip. It was a test of whether Porto could handle a side that had already shown it could frustrate opponents, and whether Casa Pia could turn a stubborn start into something more durable.
There is still a different kind of pressure in the background. Casa Pia beat Porto in Rio Maior 222 days ago, a reminder that the setting has not always been comfortable for the visitors. Farioli’s answer was not caution but control: start Inbeom, keep the back line moving, and leave the talk about Benfica for later. If Porto gets the result it wants, the clásico arrives with the same headline and a better mood; if not, the first crack in the season will be harder to ignore.
