Portugal round-up: Sporting step into second

Sporting CP climbed into second place in the Portuguese Superliga with a 2-1 away win against FC Alverca - but they had to come from behind after Pedro Torrão put one over his former club with the opener.

Bright start
Torrão, a former Sporting youth player, celebrated his 100th game in the Portuguese Superliga by capping the home side's bright start with a low cross-shot past Ricardo after a Miguel Vargas pass.

Comeback completed
Sporting levelled the match on the half-hour mark through a penalty scored by Brazilian midfield player Fábio Rochemback, punishing a Veríssimo foul on playmaker João Pinto. The visitors completed the comeback with a Liedson tap-in after skipper Pedro Barbosa's attempt was parried by French goalkeeper Yannick Quesnel. It was Liedson's sixth goal in four games.

Monday game
Sporting's win moved them up to second, four points behind leaders FC Porto, who will put their unbeaten record on the line when they visit Boavista FC on Monday night.

Mota muted
In Paços de Ferreira, crowd favourite José Mota's homecoming as club coach after a brief spell with CD Santa Clara was ruined by SC Braga. Wender's solitary goal gave the visitors all three points.

Édson off
Elsewhere, CF Belenenses and UD Leiria both conceded four goals against CD Nacional and SC Beira-Mar respectively. Unlike Belenenses, Leiria did at least manage to find the target themselves, although they were not helped by the red card shown to Édson in their 4-2 defeat.

Estrela slump
CF Estrela da Amadora's early-season draw with Porto is looking increasingly impressive compared to their subsequent form. They slumped to their seventh defeat in nine games at the hands of Rio Ave FC despite taking the lead through Júlio César. Goals either side of half-time from Junas and Jaime turned the tide in their 3-1 defeat.

Honours even
The weekend's other games both ended in 1-1 draws, with Gil Vicente FC held by Vitória Guimarães and Moreirense FC denied all three points by Marcelo's added-time equaliser for Clube Académica de Coimbra.