In a thrilling Portuguese Primeira Liga encounter, Benfica edged out Farense 3-2 on Wednesday, with Turkish star Kerem Akturkoglu playing a starring role by scoring twice and providing an assist.

Akturkoglu opened the scoring in the 7th minute, putting Benfica in the lead early. The Turkish forward then assisted Vangelis Pavlidis, who doubled the advantage with a goal in the 23rd minute.

Farense responded just before halftime, with Tomas Ribeiro pulling one back in the 43rd minute to make it 2-1 as the teams headed into the break.

In the second half, Akturkoglu extended Benfica’s lead with a goal in the 54th minute, making it 3-1.Farense fought back once again, with Rony Lopes scoring in the 63rd minute to reduce the deficit to 3-2, but no further goals followed.

With the win, Benfica secured 65 points after 27 weeks of the season, remaining in second place, level with Sporting Lisbon on goal difference.