Sporting seals first place in Portugal's soccer league

Lisbon, Dec 9 Sporting’s Fredy Montero scored twice to crush Gil Vicente 2-0 in Portugal’s Northern city of Braga and help his team clinch first place again in the 12th round of the Portuguese soccer league.

As Gil Vicente’s Gabriel hesitated inside the box, Fredy Monteiro managed to slot the ball past Adriano in the 19th minute, Xinhua reported Sunday.

He scored again in the 74th with a right-kick effort following a failed attempt by Spanish left winger Diego Capel.

The Colombian centre-forward now has 13 goals on his score-sheet in this season.

Monteiro overcame a pressure-packed situation, having had to compete with Porto counterpart Jackson Martinez’s brilliant performance on Saturday.

Martinez scored two goals to help Porto beat Braga 2-0 Saturday, helping his team rise provisionally to the top of the league.

But thanks to Monteiro, Sporting is now two points clear of disheartened teams Porto and Benfica. They are also now isolated at the top of the league for the first time in nine years.

Gil Vicente remains fifth in the Portuguese league with 18 points.