Porto rule in Portugal again

FC Porto claimed a third successive Portuguese Liga title as a 6-0 home win against CF Estrela da Amadora gave them an unassailable lead at the top with five matches still to play.

Early initiative
Needing to win to make sure of their 23rd championship overall, Jesualdo Ferreira's side quickly seized control at the Estádio do Dragão and took the lead as early as the eighth minute, Lucho González combining with fellow Argentinian Lisandro López to open the scoring. Three minutes later, the win and the title were effectively assured as Moroccan international midfielder Tarik Sektioui turned in Ricardo Quaresma's left-wing cross, but Porto had no intention of stopping there - although the third goal did not arrive until the second half.

Second-half glut
When it did, Raul Meireles providing the cross from which Quaresma made it 3-0 in the 64th minute, it prompted a flurry of Porto goals in the last half-hour starting with visting defender Maurício turning a Bosingwa cross past his own goalkeeper 19 minutes from time. Bruno Alves then added a fifth with 12 minutes left from another Raul Meireles assist, before López scored his second and Porto's sixth to put the final flourish on a memorable night.

'Good night'
"It was a great game," said Ferreira, who signed a new one-year contract with Porto this week. "We were serious, professional and adults. We scored six goals in front of a great crowd and increased our goal average. It was a good night and we are champions." In Saturday's other match, A. Académica de Coimbra and Vitória FC drew 0-0, while on Friday FC Paços de Ferreira and Vitória SC shared four goals in a 2-2 draw.