1973–74 S.L. Benfica season consecutive wins and reached second place by early February, while also cutting their gap to Sporting to just one point. In March, a loss in Estádio das Antas with Porto and a draw with Beira-Mar, put Sporting with a four-point lead again. Nonetheless, Benfica beat Sporting at their own home and three weeks later, they got back to a single point difference after their rival dropped points. That gap remained unchanged until the last match-day, when Sporting won the title. In the Portuguese Cup, Benfica reached the Taça de Portugal Final after beating Porto away, but lost the competition on
2006–07 S.L. Benfica season against Porto on 1 April. The visitors scored first through Pepe in the 41st minute, but Benfica equalized in the 83rd minute with an own-goal from Lucho González. Santos attributed the draw to Porto goalkeeper Helton's performance, saying, "Helton made three or four great saves. We were better in the second half and we deserved to win." On the following Thursday, Benfica visited the Olímpic de Montjuïc to face Espanyol. The Spaniards pushed hard from early on and scored first through Raúl Tamudo in the 15th minute; shortly after the half-hour mark, Albert Riera made it 2–0 and in the