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
1994–95 S.L. Benfica season to the knockout stage after coming first in their group. As the season progress, Benfica performance stabilised and starting early December, they rack up over ten wins in a row. This allowed them to close distances to leader Porto, and progress to the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup. In late February, in the decisive stage of the season, Benfica slipped again in the Primeira Divisão, and were eliminated in the other competitions. Til the end, Benfica could only win about half of their remaining fourteen match-days, finishing in third place, 15 points behind Porto. In their last match of the