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
1996–97 S.L. Benfica season week later; on the opening game of the Primeira Liga, Benfica drops two points against S.C. Braga in a home draw. Still, with two convincing wins in early September, Benfica reached top of the table, together with four other teams. With the second leg of the Supercup next, Benfica received Porto on 18 September. However, the contend quickly became an unbalanced one, with Porto scoring five goals to none, as Preud'Homme prevented an even darker outcome The team was not disturbed by this defeat, and continued racking up consecutive league wins, even achieving a two-point lead over the second place;