1980–81 S.L. Benfica season the club. Benfica's league campaign started with seven consecutive wins, before a first loss with Porto in the Clássico. A few days later, Benfica wins their first Supertaça de Portugal. In the Cup Winners' Cup, Benfica eliminated Altay, Dinamo Zagreb and Malmö in the first three rounds. In late November, Benfica draws with Sporting and three weeks later, with Vitória de Setúbal, lapping the first half in first place with a three-point lead. In the following weeks, Benfica won three more matches before losing another point in a draw with Penafiel, which cut his lead to two points. They reacted
1977–78 S.L. Benfica season top of the table by Porto, which had a game in hand. Three days later, Benfica lost 4–1 in Anfield Road and were eliminated of the European Cup. Toni said the result expressed the difference between both teams. Back at domestic competition, Benfica regained their footing and won the following two matches. However, on 8 April, they drew again, at home with Portimonense and fell to second, a point from Porto. They responded with two more wins, before conceding another draw, the eight all season, against Braga. This opened Porto's lead to two points with five matches to go. As