Sporting tally 7th consecutive win with strikes from Gelson Martins, Aquilani and Slimani
Sporting breezed to a comfortable 3-1 win against Moreirense this Sunday evening, on Liga NOS matchday 13. Gelson Martins and Aquilani were on target in the first-half, with Slimani bagging the third after the break.
Jorge Jesus' charges quickly set out their stall at the opening whistle, throwing men forward and stretching Moreirense out wide. Esgaio broke down the wing with the first attack of the evening and set up Bryan Ruiz at the edge of the box, but the Costa Rican was unable to keep his shot down. Sporting were determined to find the back of the net early and two minutes later Stefanovic's goal was again under threat, this time with Teo creating space down the left and whipping a dangerous cross into the box that the visiting keeper did well to clear.
Again Sporting pushed forward and again Moreirense could do little but bunker down. A hashed clearance landed at Gelson Martins' feet at the edge of the area, but the young forward put his shot straight at Stefanovic. Next to try his luck was Slimani, after Teo battled back possession high up the pitch, but Stefanovic was again at hand to deny keep the scores blank. Moreirense finally broke a minute before the half-hour mark, when a quickly taken free-kick released Gelson Martins in the area to finally beat the visiting keeper.
The early goal did little to slow the Sporting charge and Moreirense could barely get out of their own half as attacked continued to rain down. Searching for a second, some persistent work from Gelson Martins saw the younger float a cross in for Slimani, but the Algerian's header ended up in the hands of the grateful Stefanovic. However, the save was just delaying the inevitable and on 37 minutes Slimani held down possession deep in opposition territory before picking out Adrien. The Portuguese international spotted the on rushing Aquiliani and the Italian midfielder obliged with a tap in finish to make it 2-0.
The second-half got underway with Moreirense's best chance so far, when Luís Carlos put in a dangerous cross that the Alvalade defence did well to turn away. Sporting responded with a third goal, this time from the penalty spot after Slimani was brought down in the area. The Algerian himself took the spot kick and although his initial effort was stopped by Stefanovic, the imposing striker reacted well to convert on the rebound.
Although trailing by three, Moreirense responded with some attacking play of his own and were only denied by a fantastic save by Rui Patrício after a shot by Boateng. However, the Portuguese international keeper could do nothing to extend his streak of clean sheets when Rafael Martins converted on a penalty. The goal boosted the visitors' morale and a handful of attacks followed, but Patrício was proving to be in impervious form and pulled off another fine stop.
João Mário had a chance late on from range, but his shot was kept out by Stefanovic. Another win for Sporting - the seventh consecutive in the league - and another three points to keep Jorge Jesus' side at the top of the table.
