Manchester City thrashed Sporting Clube de Portugal 5-0 at the Estádio José Alvalade, the Premier League leaders embarrassing the Lions in Lisbon.

Early goals to Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva established a 2-0 lead, Phil Foden getting in on the act and Silva scoring his second as City ended the contest and the tie before half time.

Sporting couldn’t get near Pep Guardiola’s well drilled side in the second half, Raheem Sterling firing a long distance shot into the top corner to extend City's lead.

Rúben Amorim and his side can have no complaints, the gap between the Portuguese champions and the elite teams in Europe obvious and painfully clear for all to see.

A thrilling and bitter clash between the league’s top two Porto and Sporting took the majority of the headlines in Liga Bwin’s twenty second round of matches this season, a 2-2 draw between the pair seeing the head of the table remain as it was.

Benfica gained some ground on their rivals, coming from behind to beat Santa Clara. Two of the division’s strugglers Belenenses SAD and Famalicão also secured important victories, overcoming Vitória Guimarães and Moreirense respectively.

Another side looking to bounce back from some disappointment was Braga and they did just that with a comeback win over their own against Paços Ferreira. Their talisman Ricardo Horta once again was their hero, the Portuguese wing wizard is our PortuGOAL Figure of the Week.

Marítimo outclassed Arouca in a convincing 3-0 victory at Estádio Municipal de Arouca. Ali Alipour converted a cross early on with Joel Tagueu firing home after his penalty had been saved.

Arouca huffed and puffed after Marítimo’s Henrique was sent off in the 56th minute, but they couldn’t find the net with Alipour heading home in the 79th minute to end the contest.

Gil Vicente continued their sensational run of form with a 1-0 win at Estádio do Vizela. Fran Navarro’s first half penalty was the difference in a game with few clear cut chances.

Vizela threw everything at the visitors in the closing stages, but the club from Barcelos held on to solidify their position in the top five.