Portuguese League
José Mourinho faces a peculiar “paradox” as his Benfica side remains the only unbeaten team in the Primeira Liga, yet they may still fail to win the title. The Eagles, sitting third in the standings, have recorded 19 wins and nine draws in 28 matches.
Mourinho, visibly frustrated after a 1-1 draw with Casa Pia, appeared to concede the title race. “Some players seem not to eat football and forget realities, so I did a little bit of math. Not winning this game ended the title fight. Winning would have kept the battle for second place alive,” he said.
The former Real Madrid boss is on the verge of leading Benfica to join a select group of teams that finished a league season unbeaten but still did not win the championship. Benfica themselves experienced this in 1977-78, finishing tied on 51 points with Porto but losing out on goal average.
Other notable cases from around the world include:
Among Europe’s top five leagues, Perugia’s case stands out. The team led by Walter Speggiorin, Gianfranco Casarsa, Salvatore Bagni, and Pierluigi Frosio finished second in the 1978-79 Serie A despite going unbeaten.
With six rounds remaining, Benfica trail Sporting CP by two points and Porto by seven, making the title a long shot despite their unbeaten record.