1985–86 S.L. Benfica season lapped the first round of the league in first place, after recovering five points since September. After an event-less January, in which Benfica retained their one-point lead over Sporting; in February, Benfica faced Porto again, this time for the round of 16 of the Taça de Portugal, winning 2–1. Meanwhile, in the Primeira Divisão, they added another point in their lead over their closest competitors. In March, Benfica was eliminated of the Cup Winners' Cup by Dukla Prague, while in the Portuguese Cup, they thrashed Sporting by 5–0 in the quarter-finals. They finished the month with a replay of the
1983–84 S.L. Benfica season Alvalade being eliminated by Sporting. In February, Benfica lost points again in the league after twelve consecutive wins. March was even more troublesome because the team was knocked-out of the European Cup by Liverpool, while in the league, Porto gave them their first league loss all season. Still, in the following month, Benfica won five games and draw one, allowing them to keep the three point lead over Porto. On 29 April, Benfica unexpectedly lost 4–1 with Vitória de Guimarães. The loss did not cause major damage because Porto had also lost points, so the distance was only cut to