Taremi hits four past Famalicão to close in on Bola de Prata award
Porto striker Mehdi Taremi bagged four goals – including three from the spot – to lead his side to a 4-2 away victory over Famalicão in the Primeira Liga.
The ruthless performance saw the Iranian international edge closer to the Bola de Prata award – granted to the top scorer of the Portuguese league.
Former Persepolis striker has now 21 top-flight goals under his belt with one round of fixtures to spare – three more than Benfica’s Portuguese international Gonçalo Ramos before the league leader’s Sunday visit to Sporting CP in Derby de Lisboa.
Taremi was on the scoresheet seven minutes into the game, sending Luiz Júnior the wrong way from the spot.
The Iranian scored his second of the night three minutes later when he dribbled past the Brazilian keeper and found the net from a cute angle with his left foot.
Iván Jaime pulled one back for the home side in the 33rd minute before Argentine Santiago Colombatto drew his team level with a spot-kick right before the interval.
Taremi completed his hat-trick midway through the second half after a VAR review showed Zaydou Youssouf had handled the ball, convincing the referee to point to the spot for a third time in the game.
The Iranian then restored the two-goal cushion for the Dragons with 15 minutes left on the clock as his right-footed effort from the spot found the bottom left corner.
A remarkable season in the Porto outfit has seen Taremi score 30 goals in 49 games across all competitions, while providing his teammates with 13 assists.
Taremi was also the leading marksman for Porto with five strikes in their UEFA Champions League campaign, which finished with an aggregate 1-0 defeat against Inter in the round of 16.