Lisbon, Portugal – A hat trick from Lima helped Benfica continue its impressive form at the top of the Portuguese Liga with a 6-1 home victory against Rio Ave.
Lorenzo Melgarejo and Nemanja Matic scored goals in the first 15 minutes to hand Benfica a 2-0 lead before Lima found the net for the first time shortly before the break.
Lima stretched the lead to 4-0 early in the second half before Rio Ave pulled a goal back through Ahmed Mahgoub.
However, Rio Ave had two players sent off in the span of 12 minutes, leading to goals from Lima and Enzo Perez for Benfica to cap the scoring.
Benfica has now won its last six games to stay four points clear of second- place FC Porto, with the club recording its last three victories by a combined score of 15-1.
Porto kept pace on Saturday by securing a 3-0 win at Academica with goals from Eliaquim Mangala, Danilo, and Andre Castro, while third-place Pacos Ferreira got two goals from Manuel Vieira in a 3-2 triumph over Gil Vicente.
Olhanense topped Beira Mar, 1-0, with an 80th-minute goal from Lucas, Tony Taylor scored deep into stoppage time to help Estoril to a 1-1 draw at Moreirense, Maritimo toppled Setubal, 4-2, while on Monday, Mateus scored in the 90th minute of a 2-1 Nacional victory over Guimaraes and Ricky van Wolfswinkel netted a hat trick to lead Sporting Lisbon to a 3-2 win at Braga.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.