Benfica got the defence of their Portuguese league title off to a successful start with a 5-0 victory over newly-promoted Pacos de Ferreira at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Saturday.

Bruno Lage’s men didn’t have it all their own way to start with, with Pacos giving as good as they got in the first half until Nuno Tavares curled in a spectacular shot in the 26th minute and home skipper Pizzi converted a penalty six minutes later.

Then, after Pacos midfielder Bernardo Martins was sent off midway through the second half, the visitors fell apart.

Haris Seferovic added a third in the 70th minute, Pizzi grabbed his second and Benfica’s fourth four minutes later and substitute Carlos Vinicius completed the rout with six minutes left.