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
FC Porto in international football competitions name="1980/81"></ref><ref name="1982/83"></ref> In between, the club sailed into the 1981–82 Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals, where they were beaten by the eventual runners-up Standard Liège.<ref name="1981/82"></ref> Porto lost the 1983 Portuguese Cup final to league champions Benfica, which allowed their participation in the 1983–84 Cup Winners' Cup as losing cup finalists. They eliminated Dinamo Zagreb, Rangers, and Shakhtar Donetsk to reach their first European semi-final.<ref name="1983/84"></ref> The competition draw paired Porto with the holders Aberdeen, managed by Alex Ferguson. Taking a 1–0 lead to Pittodrie, Porto resisted to the attacking pressure of their opponents. In the 76th minute, Vermelhinho scored the