LISBON, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Sporting beat Penafiel 3-2 on Monday in the 24th round of the Portuguese league at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in capital Lisbon.

Sporting midfielder William Carvalho opened the scoring in the fourth minute and Algeria forward Islam Slimani scored three minutes later with a header.

Penafiel forward Braga scored in the 11th, Vitor Bruno equalized in the 41st, and Sporting forward Nani closed the scoring in the 69th with a header, following a pass by Carrillo from the right flank.

Although Tobias Figuereido was sent off with a red card in the 11th for tripping up Guedes, Sporting dominated almost the entire match.

Sporting, which stands third in the Portuguese league with 50 points, hadn't won in three consecutive matches -- having drawn with Wolfsburg and Nacional in the European League and European Cup, and losing to Porto in the Portuguese league.

Penafiel stands 18th with 16 points with only one win in the last 10 matches in the Portuguese league.