Lisbon, Portugal, Feb 20: Marc Janko's impressive start with FC Porto continued Sunday as the Austria international contributed a goal in a 3-1 victory over Setubal to keep the pressure on Portuguese leader Benfica.
Janko collected a Joao Moutinho pass and squeezed through the Setubal defense to open the scoring after three minutes for his third goal in three games — the best start to a Porto career since Mario Jardel 15 years ago.
Fernando took a Hulk pass to score the second in the 26th minute before Albert Myeong pulled one back for Setubal in the 75th after Hulk and Moutinho had both exited the game.
Silvestre Valera converted Cristian Rodriguez's 79th-minute cross to seal a win that moved the defending champions to within two points of Benfica, which puts its unbeaten season on the line at Guimaraes on Monday.
"This was a crucial game for us," Porto coach Vitor Pereira said. "We could not afford to leave here with just a point."
Sporting coach Ricardo Sa Pinto made a winning start after Pacos Ferreira defender Ricardo's 36th-minute own goal lifted the Lisbon club to a 1-0 win that put it joint-fourth with Maritimo.
In other matches, Nacional beat Academica 4-1 and Feirense and Olhanense drew 1-1, while Leiria and Beira Mar's 0-0 draw saw an assistant linesman abandon the game with a head injury following a run-in with Leiria player John Ogu.
Maritimo beat Rio Ave 3-1 on Friday, while Braga moved into third with a 3-0 win over Gil Vicente on Saturday.
