Arsenal loanee hits milestone despite team’s shock defeat

Porto suffered a shock elimination from the Portuguese cup on Sunday to deny them their fourth consecutive title, but Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira hit a key milestone on the day.

For the most part, Sunday was not a positive one for Porto or Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira.

Facing Moreirense, Porto were hoping to continue their hunt for a fourth consecutive Taca de Portugal title. Having breezed past Sintrense 3-0 in the previous round, it looked like they were set for another straightforward win when Pepe gave them a first-half lead.

But goals from Moreirense’s Luis Asue and Alan condemned the reigning champions to defeat and elimination.

The one positive for Vieira was that he completed the full 90 minutes of the match, for the first time this season.

In fact, the last time Vieira played 90 minutes for any team was in November 2023, when he completed an Arsenal u21 match against Reading. The last first-team match was against West Ham in the League Cup earlier that month.

If nothing else, Vieira’s loan at least appears to be succeeding in getting him minutes on the pitch. He’s already played more minutes for Porto than he did for Arsenal last season, even including those u21 minutes.

The next step will be about getting goals and assists and helping Porto to rack up a few wins. It’s three defeats on the trot for the team now, after a 2-1 Europa League defeat to Lazio, a 4-1 league thrashing by Benfica, and this 2-1 cup elimination by Moreirense.

Porto are next in action back in the Europa League away to Anderlecht on Thursday at 17:45 GMT.