Benfica win five-goal thriller at Rio Ave to close gap at table top | OneFootball

Benfica won an entertaining encounter 3-2 against Rio Ave in Vila do Conde this evening.

For over an hour Benfica looked on course for a straightforward victory. Showing little sign of tiredness after their Champions League exit at Barcelona in midweek, the Eagles built a well-merited 2-0 lead thanks to a stunning long-range strike from Orkun Kökçü and a Vangelis Pavlidis penalty.

But Brandon Aguilera gave the home team hope with a deflected free kick, and a crass mistake by Florentino Luís was taken advantage of by Clayton Silva to make it 2-2 with 15 minutes remaining.

Benfica did not panic though, and a superb team move ended with Kerem Aktürkoglu netting the winner soon afterwards, the same player then hitting the post.

With all four of the top teams in the Primeira Liga winning this weekend, Benfica remain in second place three points behind leaders Sporting and six points ahead of Porto and Braga with a game in hand.