Sporting goes 2nd in Portuguese 1st division

Vila do Conde (Portugal) : Sporting Lisbon defeated Rio Ave 3-1 to vault over two other clubs into second place in Portugal's Primeira Liga.

Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring for the visitors in the 8th minute here on Monday, but Rio Ave pulled level four minutes later on a goal by João Schmidt, reports Efe news agency.

Sporting reclaimed the lead in the 23rd minute, courtesy of a strike by Bas Dost, and Jovane Cabral sealed the triumph with a goal from outside the area in the 72nd minute.

The result lifts Sporting, with 25 points from 11 matches, into second place behind Porto, who have 27 points. Braga are third with 24 points, one more than Benfica.