O Benfica is, notably, the club with the most Portuguese Cups won in history (26), followed by FC Porto (19) and Sporting (17), but the truth is that, when the eagles meet the lions in the ‘socks’ of the race, rarely have a reason to smile. Can Rúben Amorim’s team take advantage of this historic factor, this Tuesday, in the second leg to be played in Luz? Let’s do it by steps.
This is the ninth occasion on which the two Lisbon rivals have faced each other in the decisive phase of access to the much-desired final of the premier competition and the numbers are clear: Sporting qualified six times and Benfica only smiled in two rounds, with the last time was in 1958/59, that is, almost seven decades ago.
Extending the history of clashes in the second largest Portuguese competition to all qualifiers, the scenario continues to not be encouraging for the Luz emblem, although the difference, there, is already a little attenuated. In 38 games, Benfica won 16 and Sporting triumphed in 20, adding two more draws.
| Era | First hand | Second hand | Cleared | Winner |
| 1942/43 | Sporting 2-3 Benfica | – | Benfica | Benfica |
| 1944/45 | Sporting 1-2 Benfica | Benfica 2-3 Sporting | Sporting(Sporting 1-0 Benfica) | Sporting |
| 1958/59 | Sporting 2-1 Benfica | Benfica 3-1 Sporting | Benfica | Benfica |
| 1959/60 | Sporting 3-0 Benfica | Benfica 0-0 Sporting | Sporting | Belenenses |
| 1962/63 | Sporting 0-1 Benfica | Benfica 0-2 Sporting | Sporting | Sporting |
| 2007/08 | Sporting 5-3 Benfica | – | Sporting | Sporting |
| 2018/19 | Benfica 2-1 Sporting | Sporting 1-0 Benfica | Sporting | Sporting |
| 2023/24 | Sporting 2-1 Benfica | Benfica?-? Sporting | ? | ? |
Interestingly, of the eight occasions, five were played over two legs, two were reduced to just one game (in both, Sporting played at home) and one season (1944/45) was marked by a third leg, after a draw on aggregate. of both legs, without the rule that away goals were valued. It should be noted that this law was recently eliminated and, if there is a draw on aggregate, there will be extra time in Luz, contrary to what happened in the last ‘half’ derbies (2018/19), with the aggregate of 2-2 favoring the lions for having scored a goal in their rival’s stronghold.
Another fact that stands out is that, every time one of the rivals eliminated the other in reaching the final, the winner was practically guaranteed, the exception being the 1959/60 season, when Sporting lost the Cup to Belenenses, after having eliminated Benfica, weeks before.
The data is worth what it is worth, but there is little doubt that Sporting is, between the two Lisbon rivals, the one that smiles the most in derbies in the ‘semi-finals’ of the Portuguese Cup. Will the Lions be able to confirm the trend or will Benfica break a 65-year ‘fast’? This Tuesday, we will find out…
Read Also: “Sporting is ahead, it’s better. But Benfica is always Benfica”
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* Study by e Netsonda, Nov. and ten. 2023 product of the year – pt.com
