Porto are the new champions in Portugal. A fair victory in the end in highly unusual season. The excellent form after the lockdown was key for Dragões to celebrate in the end.
Dragões were 7 points behind Benfica by the end of the first half of the season. But much like Benfica did last year, Porto didn’t stop believing and came back to win the title with a comfortable lead.
Curiously, Porto didn’t even have more points than last season. The major difference this time was that their rivals Benfica were not as sharp as last year, and crumbled down after the restart in June.
Conceição kept the style from previous seasons, with predominance of a direct and physical game. The likes of Marega, Danilo, Tiquinho and Telles remained highly important for the team.
With several important departures in the summer, Porto survived much thanks to players like Otávio and Corona stepping up. Some new signings showed quality but were all very irregular, with perhaps the exception of goalkeeper Marchesin.
However, fans should be realistic in their expectations for next season. This side is still a limited one compared to older times. Biggest hopes are now aimed on the high quantity of fresh new talent ready to explode next season(s).
Diogo Costa, Diogo Leite, Tomás Esteves, Vítor Ferreira, Fábio Vieira, Romário Baró and Fábio Silva were already given some minutes during this season and should be playing an important role soon.
