Porto have already been crowned Portuguese top-flight champions after moving nine points clear of second-placed Benfica at the weekend, leaving Jose Mourinho's side on course for an unbeaten season that could still end without the league title. The hierarchy of the league has done its work: Porto sit at the top, Benfica are left counting draws, and the rest is paperwork dressed up as competition.
Who Gets the Trophy
Porto, under the presidency of former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, have lost just one of their 32 games this term. That record has been enough to secure the title even as Benfica remain unbeaten. Benfica have not lost any of their matches but have drawn 10, six more than the champions. If they avoid defeat against Braga on Sunday and Estoril Praia on the Primeira Liga's final day, they will complete an invincible season.
That would still not guarantee anything resembling justice in the standings. Benfica could even finish third because they are only three points ahead of Sporting, who have a game in hand and a superior goal difference. The table, in other words, is not just a measure of performance but a machine that rewards the right accumulation of points and punishes every slip.
What the Numbers Hide
Portuguese sports publication A Bola said Benfica had "gifted" rivals Porto 12 points after letting a lead slip in six of their 10 draws. That is the arithmetic of a season where control at the top is decided by margins, missed chances, and the cold logic of the league apparatus. Benfica's title hopes disappeared following a 2-2 draw at Famalicao on Saturday, a result that left them unbeaten and still outside the championship.
It would not be the first time Benfica have gone a league season unbeaten and ended up trophyless. In 1977-78, Porto drew two games fewer and pipped them to the league title on goal difference. Mourinho's Benfica could join FC Sheriff in Moldova in 2024-25 and Serbian side Red Star Belgrade in 2007-08 as the only European sides this century to miss out on a league title despite going an entire season without losing.
The Referee, the Complaint, the Machine
After the draw at Famalicao, Benfica president Rui Costa said: "No-one has the right to decide who wins championships or who goes to the Champions League other than the players and coaches on the field, and what happened here today was not that." Costa complained that Famalicao were unfairly awarded a penalty, while their second goal "came from a corner which wasn't a corner". He added: "It unequivocally explains what this referee came here to do today. Trying to make sure Benfica got beaten here."
Portuguese sports newspaper Record has reported that the Portuguese Association of Football Referees will file a complaint against Costa after his comments. The dispute now moves from the pitch to the disciplinary machinery, where institutions police the language used to describe the game while the result remains fixed in the record.
Mourinho, who was also unhappy with the officiating in Saturday's match, said: "This game is a good reflection of what has happened in this championship." His words land as a summary of a season in which Benfica can go unbeaten and still be denied the title by the structure around them.
Mourinho has been one of the names linked to the Real Madrid job in the summer if the Spanish club decide to part ways with Alvaro Arbeloa. O Jogo reported that Benfica are set to offer Mourinho a new contract this week. For now, the club's future is being negotiated in the usual corridors of football power, while the league's final verdict may still leave an unbeaten side with nothing but the record.