1980–81 S.L. Benfica season with four more wins, including a home win against Porto, which widened their difference to four points. Meanwhile, in Europe, Benfica defeated Fortuna Düsseldorf in quarter-finals but was knocked-out by Carl Zeiss Jena in the semis. The final two months of the Primeira Divisão saw Benfica drop points with Académico de Viseu, Vitória de Guimarães and Sporting, reducing their lead to two points. On match-day 29, a home win against Setúbal secured their 24th league title. They concluded the season by winning their 17th Taça de Portugal in a 3–1 win against Porto. In the previous season, Mário Wilson failed
1985–86 S.L. Benfica season match with Salgueiros, which had been postponed in February because of the pitch conditions. They drew 1–1 and lost points in title race. In April, Benfica received Sporting in what was labelled the D-Day for the league. Despite leading the league for most of second round, they lost 2–1, which allowed Porto to catch them in the first place, with a better head-to-head record. Mortimore said: "Sporting had two chances and converted them both, we had lost the league". On the last day of the campaign, Porto beat last classified, Sporting da Covilhã and won the league, while Benfica lost