Star forward, Viktor Gyokeres, played a pivotal role as Sporting Lisbon clinched back-to-back Portuguese league titles, edging out Benfica after a tense final day of the season on Saturday.
Sporting sealed their triumph with a 2-0 victory at home against Vitoria SC, thanks to goals from Pedro Goncalves and Gyokeres, ensuring the Primeira Liga crown remained with the green and black.
Meanwhile, Benfica was held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Braga, falling short in the title race.
The outcome saw Sporting finish with 82 points, two ahead of Benfica’s 80, after 34 matches. Both sides had entered the last round tied on points, but Sporting held the crucial head-to-head advantage.
This meant that Ruben Amorim’s side only needed to match Benfica’s result to retain the title, while Benfica had to better Sporting’s result and hope for a slip-up.
The title marks Sporting’s 21st Portuguese league championship.
The drama unfolded after last weekend’s 1-1 Lisbon derby, where both teams had a shot at clinching the title but settled for a stalemate that pushed the race to the wire. Saturday’s fixtures kicked off at the same time, adding to the suspense.
Goncalves broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute for Sporting, before Gyokeres put the result beyond doubt in the 82nd with his sensational 39th league goal of the season in just 33 appearances.
That tally eclipsed the Swedish striker’s previous mark of 29 goals from last season, underlining his growth into one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers ahead of a potential blockbuster transfer this summer.
Benfica’s title hopes began to unravel when Rodrigo Zalazar gave Braga the lead from the spot in the 23rd minute.
Vangelis Pavlidis restored parity in the 63rd after Angel Di Maria, moments after coming on, provided the assist. Despite Braga being reduced to 10 men shortly after, when João Moutinho was sent off for a second booking, Benfica failed to find a decisive goal.
