Taça de Portugal: the numbers that put Benfica on top

Benfica and SC Braga star this Sunday, at 8:30 pm, at the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, in an unprecedented Portuguese Cup final, in the game that marks the end of the 2020/21 season.

To reach the match that will decide the title, the eagles had to overcome Paredes (0-1), Vilafranquense (5-0), CF Estrela (0-4), Belenenses SAD (3-0) and Estoril, in two legs (1-3 and 2-0). SC Braga eliminated Trofense (1-2), Olímpico Montijo (0-7), Torreense (5-0), Santa Clara (2-1) and FC Porto (1-1 and 2-3).

THE TOPS IN THE PORTUGUESE CUP

26

Number of Portuguese Cups won by Benfica, the club with the most wins in the Portuguese Cup. This record began in 1939/40 against Belenenses, with a 3-1 victory. The 26th title was won in 2016/17, the year of the fourth league title in a row, with a 2-1 victory, at the Estádio do Jamor, against V. Guimarães.

37

For the Reds, the Portuguese Cup is a competition that deserves all the respect and this is demonstrated by the Club's history. No other team has attended as many finals as Benfica (37), and of those, they have won 26. In other words, they have a 70% success rate.

51

Also at this stage of the competition it is Benfica who leads in historical terms. The 2020/21 marks the 81^st edition of the Portuguese Cup, and the eagles have reached the semi-finals on 51 occasions.

455

455 is the total number of games played by Benfica in the Portuguese Cup, a record that is unparalleled. Of these, 216 were in their stadium, 202 away from home and 37 in a neutral ground (the finals).

348

Nobody wins as much as Benfica in the Portuguese Cup. They have already won 348 times (76% success rate). The victories are divided into 192 when playing as a visitor, 130 when playing as an away team, and 26 when playing on neutral ground, i.e. in the finals.

1465

With an average of more than three goals per game - 3.22 - Benfica is the most prolific team in the Portuguese Cup (1465 goals).

56

The 1963/64 season was not only one of several in which the team played the most games and won the most games in the Portuguese Cup. It was also when the team scored the most goals in a single edition of the Portuguese Cup: 56.

98

When talking about goals, we have to talk about Eusébio. The Black Panther is Benfica's top scorer in the Portuguese Cup, with 98 goals in 61 matches, which amounts to an impressive average of 1.61 goals per match. 

4

The maximum number of consecutive titles reached by a club in the Portuguese Cup. Benfica won the competition between 1948/49 and 1952/53 (the 1949/50 edition was not held).

8-0

In 1943/44, at Campo das Salésias, Benfica and Estoril played the most uneven final in the history of the 81 editions of the Portuguese Cup. The eagles won by 8-0. The goals were scored by Rogério Pipi (13', 56', 69', 75' and 86'), Julinho (15' and 29') and Arsénio (35').

5-4

In 1951/52, at Estádio do Jamor, the Benfica-Sporting match finished with 5-4 win for the Reds, a result that makes this final the one with the most goals ever. Rogério Pipi (11' pk, 69' and 90'), Corona (49') and José Águas (73') scored for the winners.

14-1

This historic result was achieved in the 1988/89 season. The Reds hosted Atlético Riachense at Estádio da Luz in the last 32 of the Portuguese Cup and won by 14-1, Benfica’s biggest win at home in the competition.

10

A dozen is the maximum number of finals played against a single opponent, FC Porto. The balance is largely in favor of the eagles, with eight wins. The history started in 1952/53 and ends (for now) in 2019/20.