Lisbon, Jan 19 (IANS) Sporting Lisbon beat Rio Ave 4-2 in the 17th round of the Portuguese football league at the Alvalade stadium here to secure third place.
Sporting midfielder Nani opened the scoring 30 minutes into the game Sunday night with a clinical penalty shot, reports Xinhua.
However, Rio Ave forward Del Valle equalised eight minutes later with the teams locked going into the break.
After half-time, Sporting entered the game with full speed. Colombian forward Fredy Montero put Sporting ahead again in the 60th, before Joao Mario scored another in the 67th with a header.
Rio Ave forward Ahmed Hassan netted in the 68th with a powerful shot from inside the area, but Japanese forward Tanaka secured Sporting’s victory in the 90th with a left footed effort, following a pass by William Carvalho.
Sporting are third in the Portuguese league with 36 points. Rio Ave are in seventh position with 24.