South Korea midfielder Hwang In-beom celebrated his 30th birthday with his first goal in Portuguese soccer, helping Porto beat Benfica 3-1 before joining coach Moreno's first national team squad.
Porto won the seventh-round Primeira Liga match at Estadio do Dragao in Porto on Monday, Korean time.
The victory extended Porto's perfect start to seven wins and kept it atop the standings with 21 points. Second-place Benfica suffered its first defeat of the season and remained on 16 points with five wins, a draw and a loss.
The rivalry between Benfica, which holds a record 38 Portuguese league titles, and Porto, which has 31, is known as “O Classico” and is one of the country's biggest matches.
Hwang began the season's first meeting between the teams on the bench.
Porto took the lead in the 31st minute when Gabri Veiga collected a through ball and finished with his right foot from the right side of the six-yard box.
The home team gained a numerical advantage four minutes later when Benfica defender Clement Lenglet was sent off for a second yellow card.
Porto replaced Veiga, who had been booked in the fifth minute, with Hwang in the 38th minute to bring greater control to midfield.
After taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, Porto conceded an equalizer in the 51st minute. Victor Froholdt restored the lead three minutes later with what proved to be the winning goal.
Hwang completed the scoring in the 60th minute.
Andre Silva drove into the right side of the penalty area and delivered a cutback, which Hwang met with a first-time right-footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box.
It was Hwang's first goal in Portugal and came on his 30th birthday, local time. Porto had posted a birthday message for him on social media before the match.
Hwang joined Porto in July and recorded his first assist on his debut, a league match at Rio Ave on Aug. 17. His first league goal arrived in his seventh-round appearance.
His strike sealed Porto's 3-1 victory and seventh consecutive win to open the season.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
