LISBON // A free-kick from the defender Bruno Alves gave Porto a 2-1 win at Sporting and sent them top of the Portuguese Premier League on Sunday. Porto have 11 points from five matches - with Estrela Amadora, who beat Trofense 1-0 at home, and Nacional Nadeira, who drew 1-1 at Academica - sharing the second spot, one point behind.
Benfica and the promoted Leixoes met last night. The reigning champions went ahead when a shot from the midfielder Raul Meireles hit his opponent Miguel Veloso and fell into the path of the Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez, who scored his first league goal of the season. Sporting, who suffered their second successive league defeat, equalised when the captain Joao Moutinho was fouled in the box by the Argentine Tomas Costa after 28 minutes.
Moutinho calmly sent the goalkeeper Nuno the wrong way with the penalty. Porto grabbed the three points when Alves hit a 30-yard freekick over the defensive wall after 31 minutes. * Reuters