Benfica enjoy big win in Porto | OneFootball

Vangelis Pavlidis scored a hat-trick as Benfica earned an important result in their title race with Sporting by defeating Porto on the road.

The Lisbon outfit opened the scoring in Porto with just 40 seconds gone when Kerem Aktürkoğlu's cross found Vangelis Pavlidis to apply the finishing touches.

Benfica earned a deserved second after Porto failed to clear a corner with Florentino Luís's attempted shot falling to Pavlidis who kept his cool to score.

The Greek completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute to effectively kill the game off. This time it was a cross from deep by the veteran Ángel Di María which found the head of Pavlidis who nodded past goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

The home side did pull one back in the 81st minute thanks to Samu Aghehowa but the three goal advantage was restored when Nicolás Otamendi headed in from a free-kick with Costa in no-man's land.

That result sees Benfica go top of the Primeira Liga, three points clear of Sporting who face a tricky tie at home to Braga tomorrow night.