Tavares stuns wasteful Benfica as Portimonense steal draw

PORTIMAO, Portugal (Reuters) - Junior Tavares scored a stunning equaliser 13 minutes from fulltime as hosts Portimonense came from two goals down to draw 2-2 and compound the recent woes of title-chasing Benfica in their Portuguese top-flight clash on Wednesday.

League leaders Benfica looked to be cruising as prolific Portugal international Pizzi netted his 27th goal of the season in all competitions and defender Andre Almeida added a second on the half-hour mark.

Yet the relegation-threatened home side were given hope when captain Dener headed in from Tabata's free kick, before Brazilian defender Tavares curled a superb 25-metre shot into the top corner to seal a point.

Benfica have now won one of their last 10 games in all competitions, and drawn their last five, having also had two players injured as their bus was stoned by angry fans following a 0-0 draw at Tondela in their first game back following the pause in the season for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lisbon-based club moved to 61 points from 26 matches, one more than title rivals Porto, who face Maritimo later on Wednesday. Portimonense are second-bottom on 20 points.

(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Toby Davis)