The Portuguese Football Championship (Liga Sagres) is inferior in ranking to the domestic championships of England, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Russia. However, there is a spectator interest in this tournament. Several Portuguese clubs at once represent a formidable force, including in the European Cup arena.
There are 34 clubs in the elite division of the Portuguese Championship. Perhaps the most famous of these are Porto, Benfica and Sporting. These teams traditionally compete for the championship title. In the 2018-2019 season, the intrigue in the distribution of the final places remained until the last round.
Prizes in the Sagres League 2018-2019
Lisbon Benfica became the Portuguese champion of the 2018-2019 season. At the end of thirty-four matches, the team scored 87 points. At the same time, statistics on the difference between goals scored and conceded points to a significant superiority of Lisbon players over players of other clubs. Thus, Benfica scored 103 goals and conceded only 31 goals. Despite such bright indicators, the championship had to be won in the last round, because Porto (the eternal rival of Benfica) was only a few points behind in points. The Lisbon triumph was predetermined thanks to victories in the last five matches of the tournament, while Porto lost points in one of five games, having played in a draw in the penultimate game of the championship. Thus, Porto remained second in the final standings with 85 points.
The bronze medalists of the Portuguese Championship were the players of Sporting Lisbon. The points reserve of this team at the end of the championship was 74 points. From the start of the Sagres League, Sporting's team was considered a club capable of competing with the two giants of Portuguese football, but in reality this did not happen.
Distribution of places in Eurocups
The Portuguese league's seventh place in the overall UEFA odds table allows two teams from the Sagres League to compete in the Champions League. Benfica, as the champion, will qualify for the Champions League group stage next season. Porto, thanks to the won silver medals, will start their way in the main European competition of the Old World from the qualifying stage.
Lisbon "Sporting" thanks to the third place in the tournament, got the right to play next season in the Europa League. Like the champions, Sporting made it straight to the UEL group stage. Another team from Portugal that earned the right to play in the Europa League at the end of the championship was Braga. This club lagged behind the top three with only 67 points.
Losers of the season
The last three places in the Portuguese Championship are relegated to the lower division. Moreover, there are no transitional matches for the right to remain in the elite of Portuguese football. Feirency had a disastrous season. The team scored only twenty points in thirty-four matches and deservedly remained in the last place of the final table. Nacional, with 28 points, is in 16th position. This result also contributed to the club's relegation to the Portuguese championship by the division below. Another loser of the 2018-2019 season was the Shawish club (32 points and 15th place in the standings).
