Grande première depuis 47 ans
It is a situation that seems paradoxical. By imposing themselves 3-1 on Estoril’s field on Saturday, May 16, Benfica Lisbon ended the Portuguese championship season undefeated, with 23 wins and 11 draws. An exceptional and rare performance that still did not allow Mourinho’s players to clinch the title. The Lisbon team actually finished third in the championship with 80 points, behind FC Porto (88 points) and Sporting Portugal (82 points), two teams that lost twice this season.
An extremely rare case in football, where being unbeaten throughout a season is often a sign of winning the title. For proof, it is only the third time such a scenario has occurred in the history of the seven major European leagues (England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands).
The last time this happened was in 1979, according to Opta’s statistics cited by L’Equipe. That year, the Perugia club in Italy finished 2nd in Serie A, three points behind AC Milan after ending their season with 11 wins and 19 draws.
During the 1977-1978 season, Benfica Lisbon had already experienced a similar situation. With a record of 21 wins and 9 draws, the Lisbon team took 2nd place in the Portuguese championship on goal difference against FC Porto.
Even more cruelly, by finishing 3rd in their championship this year, Benfica’s players fail to qualify for the next Champions League. Under the orders of José Mourinho, who said there was a “99% chance” he would stay at the club, the Portuguese team made it to the quarter-finals this year, beaten by Arsenal, the eventual finalist.
