Jorge Jesus rued a wonder-save from Iker Casillas that secured Porto a 2-1 victory over Primeira Liga title rivals Sporting CP on Saturday.
World Cup winner Casillas produced a magnificent injury-time stop, diving low to his right and palming a header from Sebastian Coates out of the bottom-right corner.
The 35-year-old's effort enabled Porto to displace Benfica, who play Nacional on Sunday, at the summit and left Sporting nine points back in third.
"We had a lot of chances but it was Casillas who won the game," Jesus said in his post-match news conference.
"The better team did not win because Porto were not better. The right result would have been a draw.
"It is not easy to be 2-0 down here and change the game like we did. It was not enough, despite always being close to the equaliser."
A first-half double from debutant Soares put Porto two goals up, with Alan Ruiz halving the deficit in the 60th minute.