Super Eagles star Zaidu Sanusi came off the bench to help Porto seal a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in their Champions League clash at Estádio do Dragão on Tuesday night.
Sanusi had a rough few days for both club and country, but his latest goal should do his confidence a little bit of good.
Porto's slow start
Having started Porto's first two games in the competition, Sanusi found himself on the bench against the German side.
The Portuguese champions went into the game knowing they had to win to keep their faint hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages alive after losing their first two matches.
Sergio Conceicao's men started poorly and could have fallen behind after Chelsea loanee Callum Hudson-Odoi had the ball in the back of the net.
However, the strike was ruled out for offside. The Portuguese side continued to live dangerously and almost paid for it after Bayer Leverkusen were awarded a penalty.
Again, they were let off after Patrick Schick missed the resulting penalty as the first half ended without goals. The second half resumed with both sides trying to find a breakthrough.
Sanusi to the rescue
Knowing something has to change, Conceicao brought on Sanusi for Wendell. The decision proved to be a thing of genius as the Super Eagles headed in a cross from Mehdi Taremi in the 69th minute to put Porto ahead.
Sanusi's goal gave Porto more belief as they went in search of a second. The Dragons secured the second goal through Wenderson Galeno to secure a 2-0 win.
The win lifted them to third with three points from three games, six behind leaders Club Brugge.