Benfica, firm leader and Trincao scores for Sporting

Benfica this Sunday consolidated the leadership of the Portuguese League by defeating Gil Vicente (3-1) in the scorers battle between Gonçalo Ramos and the Valencian Fran Navarro,

The ‘incarnated’ formation took the lead in the 9th minute through a penalty goal scored by Portuguese international João Mário.

Gil Vicente equalized in the 17th minute, also from a penalty, through Navarro, who scored his eighth Liga goal and briefly put Ramos ahead in the race for Portugal’s top scorer trophy.

However, it was Ramos himself who scored for the ‘eagles’ near the break, in the 37th minute, and the Spanish striker equalized again.

That parity was regained in the second half, as the young attacker, who was included in Portugal’s squad for the Qatar World Cup, converted a pass from Argentine Enzo Fernández in the 53rd minute to score his ninth goal in the competition and the final 3 -1.

Benfica remains unbeaten in the season and leads the standings with 37 points, eight more than Porto, who this Saturday beat Boavista (1-4).

Despite Navarro’s good moment, Gil Vicente suffered its sixth straight loss in the championship and remains third from last place, in the relegation play-off zone.

Trincao’s third goal

For their part, Sporting is fourth after winning their visit to Famalicao (1-2). Francisco Trincao, on loan at Barça, opened the scoring shortly before the break with a successful shot after a combination with Jeremiah St. Juste and Paulinho, who helped him. It was the third goal in the championship for the Portuguese winger.

Pedro Gonçalves scored a 0-2 penalty in the first half and, quarter of an hour from the end, Andalusian Iván Jaime made it 1-2.