Primeira Liga (Portugal)

2015/16 Portuguese Primeira Liga. 3x Benfica!

Primeira Liga

For the third time in a row, Benfica has won the Portuguese Primeira Liga, marking a record 35 league titles to their name.

Benfica broke FC Porto’s streak from 2003 to 2013 by winning the league in 2005 and in 2010, and now it looks like Benfica is on their own streak.

The defending champions did not start the season looking like they would be able to defend their title. They got into to pole position with just a quarter of the league left to complete. And despite having their destiny in their own hands, they never had lead comfortable enough to make room for any mistakes.

After 34 rounds of the Portuguese Primeira Liga, Benfica sat on top with 88 points, resulted from 29 wins, 1 draw, 4 losses. They outscored their opposition 88-22, a 66 goal difference. Right behind Benfica was Sporting CP with 86 points. That 2 points gap kept Sporting away from the title for weeks until the final day.

The battle for the title was looking like a fight between Porto and Sporting CP earlier in the season. About half of the season, Benfica joined the race for the title. After 16 rounds,and made the race to the title a battle between Sporting CP and themselves. Sporting CP was 4 points clear in pole position with 41 points while Benfica was second but tied on points with Porto(3rd).

In round 18, Sporting CP slipped up. A 2-2 home draw to CD Tondela allowed Benfica to close in on them with a 2-1 away win at Estoril. Porto couldn’t take advantage of Sporting CP failure, as they lost their away match to Vitoria SC. Sporting CP’s lead was cut down to 2 points.

Three weeks later, a 5-0 win against Belenenses placed Benfica on top, as Sporting CP lost the lead to Benfica after a goalless draw to Rio Ave. Sporting CP had lost the lead because of goal difference, but they were still tied in points. The season was far from over.

In their following matches, Benfica had to face Porto, while Sporting CP had to face Nacional. Benfica had the most difficult match of the day. The advantage Benfica had was that they played at home while Sporting CP had to travel.

The pressure on Benfica to win might have played a role in their defeat. A 2-1 loss to Porto allowed Sporting to gain a new 3 points lead with a win 4-0 win over Nacional.

Week 24 and week 25 decided the title. Benfica did what was expected of them and won against Madeira (2-0). Sporting CP played a goalless draw with Victoria SC. Sporting’s lead was cut down to a point. Both teams went into their matches knowing that they faced each other in the next fixture.
After losing 2 points of their 3 points lead, there was no room for error for Sporting CP. A loss to Benfica will see them 2 points behind. Benfica could smell blood, so they attacked.

Sporting CP hadn’t dropped points in two consecutive league matches in the season, and they were playing at home, but they had no room for error in this match. On March 25th, 2016, Sporting CP welcomed Benfica to a match that would be the title decider. In front of Sporting CP crowd, Benfica took the lead 20 minutes into the match. Konstantinos Mitroglou goal was enough to place Benfica 2 points clear on the league table.

The 2 points lead stayed with Benfica till the end of the season, as both sides went through the season winning their remaining nine matches.

There is little doubt that the battle for the title will be a close one for the upcoming season.

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