Liga Sagres wrap: Benfica thump Rio Ave, Porto cruise

Benfica preserved their four-point lead on top of the Liga Sagres table thanks to a 6-1 destruction of nine-man Rio Ave on Saturday.

Lima was the star of the show with a hat-trick in a match that saw Rio Ave’s Jose de Souza and Edimar sent off in the second half.

Lorenzo Melgarejo, Nemanja Matic and Enzo Perez also got themselves on the scoresheet, a win that maintains Benfica’s unbeaten status.

At the Estadio Efapel, Porto bounced back from their surprise draw against Maritimo by defeating Academica 3-0.

Goals from Eliaquim Mangala, Danilo and Andre Castro clinched the points for the visitors.

Elsewhere, Maritimo consolidated fifth position with a 4-2 victory over Vitoria Setubal, Lucas scored in the closing 10 minutes to hand Olhanense a 1-0 win at Beira-Mar, while Moreirense and Estoril played out a 1-1 draw.