Liga Sagres wrap: Five-star Benfica, Braga scrape home

Benfica dished out a 5-1 thumping to Pacos De Ferreira in Monday’s Liga Sagres action while Sporting Braga also won.

Winless in their last two league encounters, Benfica took just five minutes to claim the lead when Oscar Cardozo converted from the spot after Paraguay defender Javier Cohene gave away an early penalty.Benfica doubled their lead just eight minutes later as Argentine midfielder Pablo Aimar struck.The rout continued as Nicolas Gaitan added a third after 25 minutes, before Lionel Carole’s own goal reduced the margin to two goals.Cohene was sent off for a second yellow card after 41 minutes but it was not until the last 10 minutes that Jorge Jesus’ capitalised on their numerical advantage, as substitute Nuno Gomes struck a late brace.In Monday’s other fixture, Braga extended their unbeaten run to six in all competitions with a 1-0 win over Rio Ave.Hugo Viana struck the game’s sole goal after 73 minutes as Braga climbed two places to fourth.