Sporting beat Vitoria to clinch Portuguese title

LISBON :Sporting were crowned Portugal champions after beating Vitoria Guimaraes 2-0 in Primeira Liga on Saturday as both the title race and the relegations were decided on the final match day.

Pedro Goncalves put the defending champions in front after 55 minutes before Viktor Gyokeres doubled the advantage late on, sealing the points with a low strike inside the bottom right corner.

Sporting finished top of the standings on 82 points, two points above local rivals Benfica who were held to a 1-1 draw at 10-man Sporting Braga in a simultaneous kickoff.

Sporting and Benfica played out a 1-1 draw last weekend to stay level on points but Sporting's 1-0 win in the reverse fixture in December meant they held a head-to-head advantage, and only needed to match Benfica's result on final day.

Sporting, who became champions for the 21st time, won first consecutive league titles since they claimed four in a row from 1951-54.

Boavista and Farense were relegated from the top flight while 16th-placed AVS will face Vizela, who finished third in the second tier, in the playoffs.