Porto clinches Portuguese title as Benfica draws

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — FC Porto won the Portuguese league title after Benfica drew 2-2 at Rio Ave on Sunday.

Porto holds a six-point lead over Benfica with two games to play but successfully defended its title due to its better head-to-head advantage over its closest rival.

Porto, which won 2-0 at Maritimo on Saturday, secured the title for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Rio Ave opened the scoring through Christian Atsu before Manuel Agudo and Oscar Cardozo put Benfica ahead by halftime. Yazalde Gomes' 50th equalizer earned the hosts a draw.

"Mathematically we lost the championship today since we have no more chances, but the only thing that matters is our game," Benfica coach Jorge Jesus said. "We tried to win to qualify for the Champions League and right now the goal is to win all our remaining matches.

"The title was lost over the season."

Also on Sunday, Feirense moved out of the drop zone with a 4-0 win over last-place Leiria, Nacional beat Setubal 3-0 and Beira Mar won 2-0 against Pacos Ferreira.