1978–79 S.L. Benfica season three losses in a month, severely hindered the title race. Nevertheless, despite dropping out of the UEFA Cup at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach, domestically, Benfica won all league matches for three months, reaching the first place in the league. A home draw with Porto stopped their winning run, but it was a loss to Marítimo that compromised their title race. That loss followed another with Braga for the Taça de Portugal. Despite dropping points again in March, Benfica kept an entertaining battle with Porto, which came to an end when they drew again in match-day 29. Two consecutive seasons
1996–97 S.L. Benfica season while the results in Europe were looking accordingly. In late October, Benfica visited Sporting for the Derby de Lisboa, losing one-nil and dropping down one position. A week later, with a further two more points dropped, Porto opened a three-point gap at the front. By the time the Clássico arrived, the distance was already five points. Losing 1–2 to Porto, increased it to eight. Affected by the defeat, Benfica lost for a second time on a row, with the priority changing from battling Porto in the title race, to defending the second place from Sporting. Autuori was sacked immediately, and