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
FC Porto Under Ferreira's steering, Porto always qualified for the Champions League knockout stage, reaching the quarter-finals in 2008–09, where it was eliminated by holders Manchester United. The arrival of Mourinho's former assistant André Villas-Boas, in the spring of 2010, set the stage to a highly successful 2010–11 season, which began with a 2–0 victory over Benfica for the Supertaça. Spearheaded by João Moutinho, Silvestre Varela, Falcao and Hulk (the "Bola de Prata" winner), Porto performed strongly in the Primeira Liga and assured its 25th title with five matches to play, after beating Benfica in its stadium. In addition, the club broke