Bas Dost at it again, this time with a brace against Nacional

Just 13 minutes had passed when Bas Dost found the back of the net against Nacional on Saturday afternoon, in front of a packed crowd of 43,167. The final strike came following a corner whipped in by Bryan Ruiz, but the hard work was done by Gelson Martins and Schelotto in the build up, with the speedy double breaking away down the flank to claim the corner.

Nacional had a pair of opportunities in thr 19th and 20th minute through Ricardo Homes and Mezga respectively, but Rui Patrício was untroubled and Sporting CP comfortably controlled proceedings with some blistering pace out wide and precision passing through the middle.

In the Nacional goal Fachini was always going to have a tough afternoon with Bas Dost on the prowl for the top spot in the European Golden Boot standings. On 34 minutes Dost looked to have pushed himself into too tight an angle, but he did the business all the same and blasted into the roof of the net.

Tiago Rodrigues (37') tried to get a goal back for Nacional before the break, but it never really looked likely.

The second-half started with an individual effort from Alan Ruiz (53'), before the quality of the action dropped off in the dying stages. Bas Dost and Podence all had chances just before the final whistle, but the big Dutchman's first-half damage proved enough to claim the three points.