Sporting maintain grip on top spot with three points in Rio Ave

Sporting claimed an important win at the traditionally difficult Rio Ave this Sunday evening, on I Liga matchday four. The result keeps Sporting tied for 1st position with FC Porto, on 10 points.

The story of the encounter was eventually written in the first-half, with Sporting finding the back of the net twice before the break. First it was Adrien, striking from the penalty spot after Wakaso was adjudged to have made contact with the ball with his hand in the 10th minute. Sporting smartly went about controlling proceedings, while Rio Ave were limited to just a single opportunity, coming in the 36th minute when Marvin hit the post. Three minutes later, a cross by Jefferson lingered dangerously in the box and Slimani capitalized to make it 2-0.

The big Algerian could have made it three at the restart, but he drove his shot at Cássio’s body, before Rio Ave pulled a goal back through Yazalde after some confusion in the Sporting backline. However, the hosts did little to get forward for the rest of the evening, while Sporting came close to securing a more comfortable scoreline through Slimani, João Mário, Carrillo and João Pereira before the final whistle.