Sporting keep up the chase. Hot on the heels of Porto’s victory over Arouca, the Lions dispatched Estoril with little fuss at Alvalade to keep the gap between the top two to four points at the top of the Primeira Liga table.
Estoril are enjoying another fine season under Scottish coach Ian Cathro and were expected to cause problems for the hosts, but two quickfire goals from striker Luis Suárez quickly drew the sting out of the visitors and suspense from the match.
The Colombian centre-forward benefited from two outstanding assists from Francisco Trincão and Morten Hjulmand respectively, two clinical finishes giving Sporting a 2-0 lead by the 16th minute.
Rui Borges’ team opted for cruise control for most of the remainder of the match, conserving energy for big games next week against Porto (Portuguese Cup) and Braga (Liga), with Japanese midfielder Hidemassa Morita back to his very best and running the game for long periods.
Estoril played some neat football as usual but were unable to seriously threaten Sporting, a Rafik Guitane effort in the second half the closest they came to cutting the deficit, but goalkeeper Rui Silva got down well to make a sharp save.
Sporting put the icing on the cake in stoppage time when substitute Daniel Bragança scored for the second home match in a row, a fine dribble and finish rounding off a satisfactory night for the home supporters.
