Taremi finds scoring touch in Porto draw
Porto striker Mahdi Taremi bagged his first goal for the club in 112 days during a 2-2 home draw against Famalicão in Liga Portugal on Saturday.
Introduced as a halftime substitute at the Estádio do Dragão, Taremi tapped in from close range with eight minutes left on the clock to draw Porto level for the second time in the match – the Iranian’s fourth goal in the Portuguese top flight this season.
The stalemate left Porto third in the table on 59 points – 15 points adrift of league leader Sporting, which has a game in hand – with five matches to spare.
Taremi had last found the net for the Dragons in a 2-1 victory over Leixões in the Portuguese League Cup in late December.
The Iranian missed eight matches for Porto in January and February due to AFC Asian Cup involvement and then fell down the pecking order after returning from international duty – not named in the matchday squad for five league outings – presumably following the reports of the Iranian’s imminent move to Serie A giant Internazionale as a free agent in the summer.
Having joined from Rio Ave in July 2020, Taremi has been Porto’s talisman over the past four seasons, scoring 87 goals, while providing his teammates with 53 assists, in 175 appearances across all competitions.
He is the club’s third all-time top scorer after retired Brazilian Mário Jardel (138) and former Colombian international Jackson Martínez (92).
The Iranian, who will turn 32 in July, netted 22 strikes to finish as the leading marksman in the Portuguese league last season, but a below-par run, by his own standards, in the ongoing campaign has seen him bag only seven goals in 28 domestic and European appearances.