Sporting Lisbon retained their Portuguese title on Saturday, defeating Guimarães 2-0 to hold off rivals Benfica on the final day of the Primeira Liga season.
Both Sporting and Benfica were tied on points heading into their last game after a tight 1-1 derby stalemate last weekend left the title race on a knife edge.
Benfica needed to better their result to win, but they drew 1-1 at Braga, and even a victory would not have sufficed because Rui Borges’ team won and held the advantage head-to-head.
Pedro Goncalves broke the tie in the second half, and Sporting’s leading scorer, Viktor Gyokeres, scored his 39th league goal of the season to seal the win.
Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim led Sporting to last year’s title, and after his departure in November, he was replaced by Joao Pereira, who only lasted six troubled weeks before Borges took over.
They won their 21st Primeira Division title and could make it a domestic double as they face Benfica next Sunday in the Portuguese Cup final.
