2021–22 Rio Ave F.C. season

The 2021–22 season was Rio Ave F.C.'s first season back in second division of the Portuguese football league, the Liga Portugal 2, and the 83rd as a football club.

Rio Ave

President	António Silva Campos
Head coach	Luís Freire
Stadium	Estádio dos Arcos
Liga Portugal 2	1st (promoted)
Taça de Portugal	Quarter-finals
Taça da Liga	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Pedro Mendes (9) All: Pedro Mendes (9)
Home colours Away colours
← 2020–21 2022–23 →

Players

First-team squad

As of 1 February 2022

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   BRA Magrão 2 DF   BRA Júnio 3 DF   POR Ângelo Meneses 5 DF   BRA Hugo Gomes 6 MF   POR Guga 7 FW   CMR Fabrice Olinga 8 MF   POR Vítor Gomes (captain) 9 FW   BRA Ronan 10 MF   FRA Amine Oudrhiri 13 DF   SEN Alhassane Sylla 14 MF   POR Joca 17 FW   POR Ukra 18 GK   BRA Jhonatan (on loan from Vitória Guimarães)

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW   POR Pedro Mendes (on loan from Sporting) 20 DF   POR Costinha 21 MF   POR João Graça 22 GK   BRA Léo 24 DF   POR Pedro Amaral 25 FW   POR Zé Manuel 33 DF   BRA Aderlan Santos 36 DF   BRA Sávio 42 DF   CRO Renato Pantalon 70 FW   BRA Gabrielzinho 80 MF   CPV Zimbabwé 81 FW   GHA Abdul-Aziz Yakubu (on loan from Vitória Guimarães) 95 FW   POR André Pereira

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   NZL Nando Pijnaker (at Sligo Rovers)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   ANG Gelson Dala (at Al-Wakrah)

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Liga Portugal 2	8 August 2021	15 May 2022	Matchday 1	Winners	34	21	7	6	52	31	+21	061.76
Taça de Portugal	26 September 2021	12 January 2022	Second round	Quarter-finals	5	3	1	1	10	4	+6	060.00
Taça da Liga	25 July 2021	15 December 2021	First round	Third round	4	1	2	1	4	4	+0	025.00
Total					43	25	10	8	66	39	+27	058.14

Source: Soccerway

Serie A

Main article: 2021–22 Liga Portugal 2

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Rio Ave (C, P)	34	21	7	6	52	31	+21	70	Promotion to Primeira Liga
2	Casa Pia (P)	34	21	5	8	50	22	+28	68
3	Chaves (O, P)	34	18	10	6	54	35	+19	64	Qualification to Promotion play-offs
4	Feirense	34	17	7	10	50	37	+13	58
5	Benfica B (I)	34	17	6	11	61	44	+17	57

Source: Liga Portugal
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head away goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Matches won; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off.
(C) Champions; (I) Ineligible for promotion; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
27	16	6	5	42	27	+15	54	9	1	3	22	14	+8	7	5	2	20	13	+7

Source: Liga Portugal 2

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	D	W	W	W	L	D	W	D	L	W	W	L	L	W	W	L	W	W	D	D	W	D	W	W	W	W
Position	2	3	2	1	1	2	2	3	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	5	5	5	3	2	2

Source: Liga Portugal 2
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 8 July 2021.^[1][2]

Rio Ave v Académica

8 August 2021 1	Rio Ave	5–1	Académica	Vila do Conde
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Farense v Rio Ave

15 August 2021 2	Farense	1–1	Rio Ave	Faro
11:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio de São Luís

Varzim v Rio Ave

22 August 2021 3	Varzim	0–3	Rio Ave	Póvoa de Varzim
11:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio do Varzim SC

Rio Ave v Leixões

28 August 2021 4	Rio Ave	2–1	Leixões	Vila do Conde
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Estrela da Amadora v Rio Ave

10 September 2021 5	Estrela da Amadora	2–5	Rio Ave	Amadora
20:15 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio José Gomes

Rio Ave v Feirense

18 September 2021 6	Rio Ave	0–4	Feirense	Vila do Conde
11:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Porto B v Rio Ave

3 October 2021 7	Porto B	1–1	Rio Ave	Vila Nova de Gaia
15:30 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio Municipal Jorge Sampaio Referee: Iancu Vasilica

Rio Ave v Vilafranquense

10 October 2021 8	Rio Ave	2–1	Vilafranquense	Vila do Conde
11:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Penafiel v Rio Ave

23 October 2021 9	Penafiel	1–1	Rio Ave	Penafiel
11:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio Municipal 25 de Abril Referee: Cláudio Pereira

Rio Ave v Académico de Viseu

31 October 2021 10	Rio Ave	1–2	Académico de Viseu	Vila do Conde
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Rio Ave v Nacional

28 November 2021 12	Rio Ave	1–0	Nacional	Vila do Conde
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Rio Ave v Mafra

11 December 2021 14	Rio Ave	1–2	Mafra	Vila do Conde
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Rio Ave v Farense

23 January 2022 19	Rio Ave	2–1	Farense	Vila do Conde
15:30 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Rio Ave v Varzim

30 January 2022 20	Rio Ave	1–1	Varzim	Vila do Conde
12:45 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos Referee: António Nobre

Rio Ave v Sp. Covilhã

2 February 2022 16	Rio Ave	3–1	Sp. Covilhã	Vila do Conde
17:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Rio Ave v Estrela da Amadora

14 February 2022 22	Rio Ave	1–0	Estrela da Amadora	Vila do Conde
18:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Feirense v Rio Ave

20 February 2022 23	Feirense	0–0	Rio Ave	Santa Maria da Feira
14:00 WET (UTC±0)				Stadium: Estadio Marcolino de Castro

Rio Ave v Porto B

27 February 2022 24	Rio Ave	1–0	Porto B	Vila do Conde
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Vilafranquense v Rio Ave

7 March 2022 25	Vilafranquense	1–2	Rio Ave	Rio Maior
18:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Rio Maior Referee: Dinis Gorjão

Rio Ave v Penafiel

12 March 2022 26	Rio Ave	2–0	Penafiel	Vila do Conde
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Académico de Viseu v Rio Ave

18 March 2022 27	Académico de Viseu	0–1	Rio Ave	Viseu
18:00 WEST (UTC+1)			Aziz   56'	Stadium: Estádio do Fontelo Referee: Vitor Ferreira

Rio Ave v Trofense

3 April 2022 28	Rio Ave	1–0	Trofense	Vila do Conde
16:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Nacional v Rio Ave

10 April 2022 29	Nacional	2–0	Rio Ave	Funchal
16:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio da Madeira

Rio Ave v Benfica B

17 April 2022 30	Rio Ave	2–1	Benfica B	Vila do Conde
16:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Mafra v Rio Ave

24 April 2022 31	Mafra	1–1	Rio Ave	Mafra
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Mafra

Rio Ave v Casa Pia

30 April 2022 32	Rio Ave	1–0	Casa Pia	Vila do Conde
16:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Sporting da Covilhã v Rio Ave

7 May 2022 33	Sporting da Covilhã	0–1	Rio Ave	Covilhã
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio Municipal José dos Santos Pinto

Rio Ave v Chaves

15 May 2022 34	Rio Ave	3–0	Chaves	Vila do Conde
16:00 WEST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos

Taça de Portugal

Main article: 2021–22 Taça de Portugal

Vitória de Sernache v Rio Ave

26 September 2021 Second round	Vitória de Sernache	1–3	Rio Ave	Cernache do Bonjardim
14:00 WEST (UTC+1)	Romário Rodrigues   18'	Report	Ruben Gonçalves   8' Abdul Yakubu   12' João Costa   29'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal Nuno Álvares Pereira Referee: André Narciso

Rio Ave v Boavista

17 October 2021 Third round	Rio Ave	4–0	Boavista	Vila do Conde
20:00 WEST (UTC+1)	Zé Manuel   14' (pen.) Guga   73' Gabrielzinho   86', 89'	Report		Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos Referee: Rui Costa

Rio Ave v S.C. Olhanense

20 November 2021 Fourth round	Rio Ave	2–1	S.C. Olhanense	Vila do Conde
17:00 WET (UTC±0)	Yakubu   58', 68'	Report	Matos   10' (pen.)	Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos Referee: Helder Malheiro

Rio Ave v Belenenses SAD

23 December 2021 Fifth round	Rio Ave	1–1 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p)	Belenenses SAD	Vila do Conde
17:00 WET (UTC±0)	Hugo   42'	Report	Nuno   9'	Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos Referee: Antonio Nobre

Rio Ave v Tondela

12 January 2022 Quarter-finals	Rio Ave	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Tondela	Vila do Conde
18:45 WET (UTC±0)		Report	Dadashov   96'	Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos Referee: Artur Soares Dias

Taça da Liga

Main article: 2021–22 Taça da Liga

Varzim v Rio Ave

25 July 2021 First round	Varzim	1–1 (3–4^[3] p)	Rio Ave	Póvoa de Varzim
15:30 WEST (UTC+01:00)	Ronan Jerônimo   56' (o.g.)	Report	Aderllan Santos   79'	Stadium: Estádio do Varzim SC Attendance: 0 Referee: Nuno Almeida
	Penalties
	Heliardo   Zé Tiago   Luís Silva   Cássio Scheid   Tavinho		Zé Manuel   Francisco Geraldes   Aderllan Santos   Costinha   Ukra

Arouca v Rio Ave

1 August 2021 Second round	Arouca	0–1	Rio Ave	Arouca
17:00 WEST (UTC+1)		Report	Santos   38'	Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Arouca Attendance: 358 Referee: Miguel Nogueira

Third round

Main article: 2021–22 Taça da Liga § Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		STA	POR	RAV
1	Santa Clara	2	1	1	0	5	3	+2	4	Advance to knockout phase		—	3–1	—
2	Porto	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	3			—	—	1–0
3	Rio Ave	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1			2–2	—	—

Updated to match(es) played on 15 December 2021. Source: Liga Portugal
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Rio Ave v Santa Clara

22 September 2021 1	Rio Ave	2–2	Santa Clara	Vila do Conde
19:00 WEST (UTC+01:00)	Abdul-Aziz Yakubu   17' Zé Manuel   59'	Report	Luiz Phellype   15' Jean Patric   34'	Stadium: Estádio dos Arcos Attendance: 635 Referee: Fábio Melo

Porto v Rio Ave

15 December 2021 3	Porto	1–0	Rio Ave	Porto
21:00 WET (UTC±0)	Pepê   83'	Report		Stadium: Estádio do Dragão Attendance: 4,433 Referee: Miguel Nogueira

References

1. "Sorteio da I e II Ligas e Taça da Liga marcado para 8 de julho". www.ojogo.pt.
2. "Calendário da Liga Portugal 2 já foi sorteado". www.jn.pt.
3. "Rio Ave vence dérbi com o Varzim com triunfo decidido nos penáltis".