Benfica 4-1 Nacional: Home side seal third straight Primeira Liga title ahead of rivals Sporting Lisbon with new points record- Benfica needed a win in their final game to seal the league title
- They did just that to record a 35th Primeira Liga success
- Nicolas Gaitan's goal settled any early nerves and from then on there was only ever going to be one winner
- It means Benfica came out on top, pipping Sporting Lisbon and Porto to title success
Benfica pipped rivals Sporting Lisbon to win a record 35th Portuguese league title after thumping Nacional 4-1 at home on the final day of the Primeira League on Sunday.Benfica headed into the final day two points clear of second-placed Sporting, but needed a win to guarantee the title due to an inferior head-to-head record against their rivals.Nicolas Gaitan settled the home side's early nerves with a 23rd-minute opener, before Jonas' 39th-minute strike and a second from Gaitan midway through the second half prompted early title celebrations at the Estadio da Luz.
Pizzi added a late fourth for the home side,
sealing their third consecutive title for the first time since 1977. Nacional pulled a goal back through Salvador Agra but it was too little, too late as Benfica had already got their party started.
While the title was what Benfica's players and fans wanted most -
their 35th league success came with the added bonus of a points record. They surpassed Porto's previous points record of 86 points set in the 2002-2003 season when they were coached by Jose Mourinho. Sporting secured a 4-0 victory at fourth-placed Braga thanks to goals from Teofilo Gutierrez, Islam Slimani and a double from Bryan Ruiz, but it was not enough to overhaul their city rivals to the top spot. Porto finished with 73 points in third place.
Benfica's success may be no surprise but it is all the more remarkable given they lost three of their opening seven league games.
After that poor start though they won all but one of their next 27 matches to wrap up the title with 88 points.
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