A couple of people have said right after the season that Porto lost the title on its own fault. And the reasoning is understandable, as Dragões were ahead 7 points at one point, and lost leadership when playing at home against Benfica.
It is perhaps more accurate and less unfair to say that Porto were defeated by a very impressive Benfica in 2019. Dragões had a decent season, but were not equipped to keep up with their rivals' late form.
Oliver’s constant presence on the bench and Brahimi’s most irregular season at Dragão meant that there was always a great deficit of creativity and flair. Physical players like Marega, Tiquinho, Danilo and Herrera were perhaps too important for the team.
FCP will face a very difficult summer as they will have to deal with several important departures. Casillas surely won’t be an option; Militão and Felipe are gone; Telles, Herrera, Marega and Brahimi should leave and Danilo may as well.
Replacing all these players while improving the quality to keep up with their rivals from Lisbon will be a very hard task for the usual very astute Porto board.
With Brahimi having his worst season with the blue and white shirt, Corona and Telles stepped up and had their best one at Dragão. Marega was also important in attack, but his technical limitations were always an issue. Felipe and Militão formed the strongest link of the team, at the back.
