Some players can be hesitant when offered to wear the shirt of a legend. Not so Yacine Brahimi.

Given the No. 8 at FC Porto that was famously sported by Rabah Madjer during the European Cup Final in 1987, he was thrilled rather than cautious. Such a choice could lead to exceedingly high expectations from the new Algerian, who was unavoidably compared to the genius who scored the exquisite, back-heel goal against Bayern Munich and then assisted the winner to bring the first international trophy to Estadio do Dragao.

Just three months later, Brahimi is already a crowd favourite, possibly on his way to emulate — or even surpass — his great compatriot.

Last week was especially productive for the tricky left winger. First, he was the hero in the impressive 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League that made qualification for the next round virtually certain. Brahimi provided an assist to Jackson Martinez after a phenomenal dribble that made the Basque defence look terribly amateurish, then pounced on a mistake to score himself — slotting into an empty net. That goal was his fifth in Europe already this season, following a free kick into the top corner versus Lille in the qualifying round and a hat trick versus BATE Borisov