Jonas brace fires Benfica to victory over Academica de Coimbra

Jonas scored two goals from the penalty spot to guide Benfica to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Academica de Coimbra in their Primeira Liga clash this evening.

The home side took the lead in the 34th minute when Nicolas Gaitan was brought down in the box and a penalty was awarded. Jonas took the spot kick and buried his effort into the bottom corner.

Benfica pushed for a second goal before the break, but struggled for quality in the final third to break down the visitors.

In the second half, Gaitan almost unlocked the Academica defence with a weaving run through the middle, but his strike was saved by Pedro Trigueira.

Benfica were handed the opportunity to double their lead when Richard Ofori was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box and a spot kick was awarded. Jonas stepped up for the second time in the match and fired his effort past Trigueira.

Jonas and Kostas Mitroglou saw strikes saved by Trigueira as the home side looked to secure the victory late in the game. The three points were sealed when Renato Sanches fired a low effort into the bottom corner.

The result leaves Benfica in third place in the Primeira Liga, while the visitors remain in the bottom two.