Liga Sagres: Maritimo 0 Sporting Lisbon 3

Alberto Zapater scored his first Liga Sagres goals as Sporting Lisbon returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Maritimo on Tuesday.

Having been surprise 3-2 losers to Pacos de Ferreira on January 16 in their last league game, Sporting appeared intent on bouncing straight back at Maritimo’s Estadio dos Barreiros.

But despite their ascendancy in the game’s early stages, Sporting had to wait until the 44th minute to take the lead.

Having acquired a taste for goals with his brace in Sporting’s 4-0 Taca de Portugal win over Penafiel on Friday, Zapater picked up where he left off when he arrived late in the box to power Simon Vukcevic’s precise cross past Maritimo goalkeeper Marcelo Boeck.

Zapater arrived at the Lisbon club from Serie A outfit Genoa in July 2010 for two million euros as part of the arrangement that saw Sporting favourite son Miguel Veloso move in the opposite direction.

The former Spain under-21 international is yet to produce his best form in Portugal, but showed he is perhaps settling in his new surroundings when – in the 67th minute – he clinched his second brace for Sporting in as many games.

Zapater took possession in the area after striker Liedson was well tackled, showing composure to feint back onto his left foot before firing home.

Sporting’s three points were made secure when an unmarked Liedson tapped home nine minutes later, ensuring Paulo Sergio’s side maintained its three-point buffer in third over Vitoria Guimaraes.

After dubbing the season a rebuilding one in the wake of several key departures, Sporting’s campaign has slowly gathered steam.

They remain eight points back from second-placed Lisbon rivals Benfica and still a whopping 16 points off league-leaders Porto, but are on track for Europa Cup qualification.

Maritimo’s loss keeps them in 11th place, with a nine-point gap between them and the relegation zone.