But this all came unstuck when Porto and Sporting were dumped out of the competition in controversial circumstances.
After home draws against Belenenses and Feirense, Porto needed victory at Moreirense. The Dragons dominated the first half with Moreirense goalkeeper Makaridze called into action several times and a loud penalty shout turned down. Francisco Geraldes finished a neat move to put Moreirense ahead four minutes after the interval.
As the clock wound down, Porto lost their shape and discipline, with Danilo sent off for two yellow cards in quick succession. The second card was given by referee Luís Godinho, who when jogging backwards collided with Danilo, looking in the opposite direction, and to everyone’s amazement sent the player off! Brahimi was also given an early bath by the card-happy referee who in addition booked ten other players.
Moreirense finish as Group B winners with Porto bottom of the pile. V.Setúbal and Sporting locked horns for the third time within a month, with the Lisbon club having won the Liga and Portuguese Cup matches 2-0 and 1-0. Needing only a draw to make the final four, Sporting coach Jorge Jesus gave rare starts to Elias, Lazar Markovic and Luc Castaignos. V.Setúbal took the lead after nineteen minutes through centre-back Frederico Vernâncio. Elias levelled for Sporting before substitute André Filipe wasted two glorious chances to put the Lions ahead.
Mayhem ensued in stoppage time when referee Rui Oliveira awarded the home side a dubious penalty which Edinho calmly slotted home. With the teams having identical records, V.Setúbal progress thanks to the ridiculous criterion of having played a younger squad in the competition.The Sporting delegation lost their heads as the final whistle was blown, with coach Jorge Jesus and goalkeeper Beto receiving red cards.
Benfica have dominated this competition since its inception, winning seven of the nine Taças da Liga played to date. The Eagles had a tricky final hurdle to overcome to make the semi-finals, when they travelled to Vitória Guimarães on Tuesday night, but two first-half goals from Gonçalo Guedes were enough to ensure that one of the ‘Big Three’ will be playing at the Algarve Stadium later this month. Much to the relief of the organisers, at least one of the two semis on 25 and 26 January should have a reasonable attendance!
On the same night, Hull City’s new Portuguese boss Marco Silva lost his first game in charge, 2-0 against Manchester United in the first-leg of their English League Cup semi-final at Old Trafford. The highly rated coach, who has been heralded as a younger version of José Mourinho, led Sporting Lisbon to victory in the 2014–15 Portuguese Cup. Last season Silva won the Greek championship with Olympiacos FC and had a memorable 3–2 success at Arsenal in the Champions League group stage.