Portuguese champions Sport Lisboa e Benfica are set to begin their title defence on August 14 against Boavista.
Benfica is riding high after an incredible 2022/23 campaign that saw them win their first Primeira Liga title in four years and reach the Champions League quarter-finals. Led by newly-appointed manager Roger Schmidt, the club enjoyed one of their best seasons in decades. Benfica went on to win a Portuguese-record 38th league title on the final day of the season, edging out FC Porto by 2 points. On paper it looked like a close title race. It should not have been.
Allow me to set the scene. Benfica entered the match without losing at home all season and with their only loss of the season coming against a talented Sporting Braga team. They were undefeated in 10 straight matches and had won nine of those. In Europe, the Eagles took eight points from four games versus Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. At the time, Benfica was not only one of the most in-form teams in Portugal, but in all of Europe. They held a commanding 10-point lead at the top of the table (over Porto) with just eight games remaining.
For Benfica, it was simple. Avoid a defeat to their longstanding rivals, and the league was almost certainly theirs.
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| Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Estádio da Luz) in Lisbon, Portugal, February, 2023 |
While this was shaping up to be the match of the year for Porto, Benfica had one eye on their European quarter-final fixture against Inter Milan. It was a daunting upcoming schedule for the Eagles and Schmidt would be forced into a tough position where he would have to rotate players. The fixture list was as follows:
April 7: FC Porto (home)
April 11: Inter Milan (home)
April 15: GD Chaves (away)
April 19 Inter Milan (away)
Schmidt opted for a strong lineup against Porto, despite the highly anticipated match against Inter coming up just four days later.
It was a dream start for Benfica who went up 1-0 thanks to a Gonçalo Ramos header that ricocheted into the net off Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the 10th minute. Benfica looked to be cruising as they approached the 45th minute holding a 13-point lead in the league.
Sérgio Conceição's Porto teams, however, are known for their resilience. Against the run of play, midfielder Mateus Uribe managed to equalise before halftime to silence the majority of the 62,028 supporters in attendance. Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi stunned the home crowd with a well placed shot in the 54th minute. The momentum had swung and Benfica never really recovered.
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| Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal, October, 2022 |
The gamble to field a full strength lineup did not pay off for Schmidt. While the German manager should be commended for his bold decision, this turned out to be a rare miscalculation from Schmidt. Perhaps the biggest setback for the Lisbon club was losing Danish right-back Alexander Bah to injury within 30 minutes. The loss of one of their star defenders would come back to hurt Benfica in the coming weeks.
The loss demoralised the team and derailed what had been a supremely confident (maybe even overconfident) Benfica side up until that point of the season. Schmidt's men, who had lost just one match in all competitions, were thrashed 3-0 by a well-organised Inter side. The following weekend, they were upset by a Chaves team that were 11th in the league at the time. The second leg in Milan was a mere formality and while Benfica battled valiantly, the wind had been knocked out of their sails by that point.
As we approach the new season, SL Benfica and FC Porto once again begin the year as heavy favourites to win it all. The two teams faced off this week in a tense and heated Supertaça matchup that produced 12 yellow cards and two red cards (including one for Porto manager Sérgio Conceição). It promises to be a lively and eventful 2023/24 season in the Liga Portugal.
By S. Bhojwani
Great set-up for the upcoming year. Hope Sporting can also be in the race for the tiltle!
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