FC Porto is the Portuguese champion for the first time since 2022. Behind them, however, a heated battle is unfolding between Lisbon rivals Benfica and Sporting.
It was no longer a surprise after this season, but that fact did nothing to dampen the celebrations on Saturday night: FC Porto clinched the championship title with a 1-0 home win against ninth-place promoted side FC Alverca, two matchdays before the end of the season. Since Benfica Lisbon had previously been held to a 2-2 draw at FC Familicao after leading 2-0 and having a player sent off, a draw would have been enough.
Polish international Jan Bednarek, who joined from Southampton FC in the summer, became the match-winner with his winning goal in the 40th minute. It is telling that Porto clinched its first league title since 2022 with a shutout victory. With just 15 goals conceded in 32 games, coach Francesco Farioli’s team boasts by far the best defense in the league.
The Italian, who joined from Ajax Amsterdam in the summer, led Porto back to the top with pragmatic soccer that was always difficult for opponents to handle. VfB Stuttgart learned this the hard way, having struggled against Farioli’s team in the Europa League round of 16 (1-2/0-2). Porto, however, bowed out in the quarterfinals against Nottingham Forest (1-1/0-1).
Benfica or Sporting – who will miss out on the Champions League?
Domestically, however, no one could keep up with last year’s third-place finisher this time around, not even defending champion Sporting Lisbon, which clearly missed out on a third consecutive title. After three consecutive draws, the former club of Ruben Amorim and Viktor Gyökeres now even faces the prospect of missing the Champions League, where their run ended in the quarterfinals against Arsenal this year.
Ahead of Monday night’s home game against Vitoria Guimaraes, Sporting sits in third place, but a win would allow them to tie city rival Benfica on points—a 2-2 draw on Saturday could still prove costly for Benfica. Only the second-place team qualifies for the Champions League, while the third-place team is “limited” to the Europa League.
At least Benfica—where the future of coach José Mourinho is uncertain—has the head-to-head advantage since their 2-1 win at Sporting two weeks ago, which counts in the event of a tie in points. Unlike at the top of the table, there is intense drama behind the leaders in the Portuguese season finale, which holds another highlight in store for Sporting: the Cup final against second-division side SC Uniao Torreense on May 24.