Match report
Rio Ave beat Nacional 3-2 despite playing with ten men
Rio Ave won 3-2 at Estádio dos Arcos on Primeira Liga Matchday 8, a five-goal contest in which they recovered from a red card to take all three points. Nacional went ahead through Njoya Kader in the 32nd minute, his goal set up by Francisco Gonçalves, but the home side were level within seven minutes.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Sebastian Clemmensen scored in the 39th minute to make it 1-1, and that was the score at half-time. Rio Ave's task became harder in the 54th minute when João Tomé was sent off. Even so, they edged in front three minutes later, Diogo Bezerra scoring from a Clemmensen assist to make it 2-1.
Nacional hit back in the 59th minute, Kader claiming his second to level at 2-2, but the visitors could not build on it. In the 72nd minute Jalen Blesa converted a penalty to restore the home lead, and Rio Ave held on with ten men for the remainder.
The result lifted Rio Ave from 16th to 14th, with seven points from eight games. Nacional, who came into the match on a run of five straight defeats, stayed on four points and slipped from 15th to 16th.
Njoya Kader scored twice for Nacional, in the 32nd and 59th minutes, and earned a rating of 8.52, the highest of any player on the pitch. Clemmensen was close behind on 8.45 with a goal and an assist.
Nacional were booked no times and Rio Ave twice, yet the visitors committed 17 fouls to the hosts' 7.
Rio Ave beat Nacional 3–2 (half-time 1–1).
Rio Ave met Nacional in the Primeira Liga (Regular Season - 8). Kick-off was Sunday, 11 October 2026, 14:30 UTC at Estádio dos Arcos. Referee: Carlos Macedo.
Team pages: Rio Ave · Nacional · Primeira Liga
Key moments
- 32' Goal: Njoya Kader (assist: Francisco Gonçalves) — 0–1
- 39' Goal: Sebastian Clemmensen — 1–1
- 54' Red card: João Tomé
- 57' Goal: Diogo Bezerra (assist: Sebastian Clemmensen) — 2–1
- 59' Goal: Njoya Kader — 2–2
- 72' Goal (penalty): Jalen Blesa — 3–2
Starting line-ups
Rio Ave (4-2-3-1)
Nacional (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Rio Ave 42%, the draw 28%, Nacional 30%. It finished Rio Ave 3–2 Nacional.
Level sides, home ground holds off Nacional's control of the ball — Nothing separates them on our strength rating, and Rio Ave's 42% is home ground and little else. The draw at 28% is what level sides usually produce.
Why Rio Ave in front?
Home ground, and little else. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1417 to 1405. Sides this close won 45.8% of 13,710 home games (draw 27.7%, visitors 26.6%).
Why only 42%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Nacional hold 8 more possession points (52 to 44 in recent games) — and between equals, control has been worth something. Between evenly-matched sides, when the visitors held this control edge the home team's win rate fell to 39.8% across 5,473 games, from 43.9% when styles were level.
Why the draw at 28%?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 27.7%. These teams' recent games average 2.8 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.8% of 25,145. The control factor adds 1.4 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Nacional come into this after a busy window — 15 arrivals and 11 departures over the summer. Squad turnover reads dramatic but hasn't moved results once the rating is controlled: the busiest windows landed within noise across 5,368 games, rebuilt elevens likewise across 5,446, and even losing the most regular starters showed nothing (5,336). Nacional are 1 game into a new manager (Alexandre Santos), appointed 22 days ago. The famous new-manager bounce doesn't survive its receipt: sides with a new manager beat their rating by 0.9 points over 33,420 games — but sides on an equally bad run who kept their manager beat it by 2.4 over 31,777.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Rio Ave vs Nacional final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Primeira Liga fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Rio Ave 3–2 Nacional. Explore more on the Rio Ave and Nacional team pages or the Primeira Liga page.