Primeira Liga: Penafiel 0 Sporting 4
Sporting Lisbon responded from their midweek loss to Chelsea by producing a fine 4-0 Primeira Liga win at Penafiel on Saturday.
Marco Silva's inexperienced Sporting side lost 1-0 at home to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday and they were keen to put that disappointment behind them at Penafiel.
And that they did, with a professional road display - highlighted by four goals in the final 21 minutes - helping them return to the winners list.
Islam Slimani finally opened the scoring in the 69th minute as he continued to earn back the trust of Sporting supporters.
The Algerian had been banished to the club's fringes after attempting to force a close-season transfer, but is finding form again and opened the scoring with a good header.
Slimani doubled his tally for the day and grabbed his fourth goal of the season with an emphatic finish two minutes later, blasting in off the crossbar from the edge of the area.
Fredy Montero then scored his first goal since December, tapping in at the far post eight minutes from the end and Nani, on loan from Manchester United, continued his good form with a delicate finish to round off a comfortable win.
The triumph sees Sporting close to within three points of leaders Benfica, who play Arouca on Sunday, while Penafiel remain in the bottom two.
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