1978–79 S.L. Benfica season three losses in a month, severely hindered the title race. Nevertheless, despite dropping out of the UEFA Cup at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach, domestically, Benfica won all league matches for three months, reaching the first place in the league. A home draw with Porto stopped their winning run, but it was a loss to Marítimo that compromised their title race. That loss followed another with Braga for the Taça de Portugal. Despite dropping points again in March, Benfica kept an entertaining battle with Porto, which came to an end when they drew again in match-day 29. Two consecutive seasons
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