Braga goes top in Portugal after 13th straight win

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Braga went top of the Portuguese league on Monday after beating struggling Academica 2-1 for a 13th straight win.

Marcio Mossoro headed home a perfect cross from Miguel Lopes to give the title contenders a 36th-minute lead before slipping through the Academica defense to find Rodrigo Lima, whose 19th goal gave the hosts a 2-0 lead going into the break.

Braga, which has never won the league in its 91-year history, endured a nervy ending at its Municipal Stadium after David Simao surprised goalkeeper Quim to score from long-range in the 62nd, but the hosts held on to go top.

Braga moved one point ahead of defending champion FC Porto and two points above Benfica with the victory.

"These three points are important for consolidating our place atop the table," Braga coach Leonardo Jardim said. "From this moment our ambition will be to play each game with victory in mind to attain the best possible finish."

Braga's tenure atop the table gets its first big test on Saturday when it plays at Benfica, followed by a home date against Porto the following weekend.

"These are important games, we're playing the third-place team on Saturday, and it will be an intense game but this will not decide the championship since there are still (many) games left and each one will be more difficult to win," said Jardim, in his first season in charge of last season's Europa League finalist.

Also, Maritimo scored twice in the second half to rally for a 3-2 victory over Gil Vicente to stay fourth — 11 points back of Benfica but one ahead of Sporting with six games left in the championship.