End of season grades for each Primeira Liga club

FC Porto: A-

Job done for FC Porto in the end, though it wasn’t convincing, and it wasn’t all that impressive. They did slip up several times in the campaign, and they have Benfica to thank for ultimately being allowed back into the title race and to lift the biggest prize Portuguese football has to offer. At the same time, Porto went into the season as underdogs to win the league, with Benfica comfortable favourites to retain the title, and that Porto managed to snatch it back is an impressive feat, and Conceicao deserves credit considering what he has achieved with a squad that is well short of the quality of Porto squads of old.

Porto also made it into the final of the Portuguese Cup, and that they added that to their list of titles this season with a 2-1 win over Benfica, their grade goes up from a B+ to an A-. What stops them from getting higher than that, though, is their highly disappointing European campaign. Failed to get to the Champions League group stage for this first time in nearly a decade, and only just made it out of their Europa League group before then being knocked out in the round of 32.

SL Benfica: D

Had they won the Portuguese Cup, they would have salvaged something from what has, in the end, been a woeful season, and their grade would have been moved up to C-, which is pretty generous. But where do you begin with Benfica? After an outstanding start to the season, where they won 18 of their opening 19 Primeira Liga matches, it looked as though Benfica were going to cruise to another league title. Seven points clear of Porto at the halfway stage of the season, no team had never not won the league from that position. But then, disaster struck. Back-to-back defeats were followed up with a run of just two wins in eight, and Benfica fell away from the title race in dramatic, and historic, style.

They went five home matches in a row without a win - the worst run since 1931. They conceded four goals at home versus Santa Clara in June - the first time in over 22 years that Benfica conceded as many goals in one home Primeira Liga match. The first side to throw away such a substantial lead at the summit of the table. Extraordinarily bad. And they had a disappointing campaign in Europe to go with it too. D is as high as you can go if they fail to lift the Portuguese Cup.

SC Braga: A

In the end, it was a season to remember for SC Braga. It was slightly chaotic, and it did have its ups and downs, but in the end, it was an impressive campaign. Finishing third in the league is, on its own, a tremendous feat for Braga, as it ultimately means that they’ve finished above at least one of the Big Three clubs in the land - and considering the financial disparities, that achievement can’t be understated. But to go with that, they also experienced a great Europa League campaign too, getting through two rounds of qualification before topping an incredibly competitive group containing Wolves, Besiktas and Slovan Bratislava. Not many neutrals would have seen that coming, and they did so by scoring more group stage goals than any other club in the competition.

And, if that wasn’t enough, they earned silverware this campaign too, defeating both Sporting and Porto en route to lifting the Portuguese League Cup. Add to that the fact that they not only went unbeaten against the Big Three in five consecutive games, but actually beat them on each of those five occasions, and Braga also proved that they are more than good enough to compete with the best in the land. They ended up going through 4 managers this season, which is never great for stability, but now in the hands of Carlos Carvalhal, there’s hope that next season will be equally successful.

Sporting CP: E

A season to forget for Sporting CP - or one that won’t be forgotten anytime soon simply due to how uneventful and disppointing it proved to be. It was bad enough that they were so far off the title race from the very start, but to actually end up throwing away 3rd place in the league standings on the very final day of the season due to a defeat to arch-rivals Benfica. That was just the icing on a very unpleasant cake for Sporting’s faithful fans.

No silverware to console them this time, either. Dumped out of the Portuguese Cup at the first hurdle in humiliating fashion against lowly Alverca, knocked out of the Portuguese League Cup in the semi-finals to Braga, and completely humiliated in their first match of the season, as Benfica thumped them 5-0 in the Supertaca in the season’s curtain raiser. Add that to the fact that their Europa League campaign also ended in absolute disaster, thanks to an unthinkable 4-1 defeat to Istanbul Basaksehir in the round of 32, and you get a clear picture as to just how atrocious this season was for Sporting CP.

Rio Ave: A

Borderline an A+ for Rio Ave - and many would argue that that’s exactly what they deserve after an exceptional season. Carlos Carvalhal did a tremendous job at the helm, leading Rio Ave to their equal highest ever league finish - and with it, a record points tally in a single Primeira Liga campaign, getting Rio Ave to the 55 point mark, finishing just 5 points behind 3rd-placed Braga. With this tremendous triumph comes a Europa League qualifying place, which is only another reward for a fantastic campaign.

The only thing that perhaps holds them back from getting an A+ is that they did slip up a few times towards the end of the season - and came within minutes of missing out on 5th altogether, Maritimo’s late equaliser versus Famalicao the only reason that they managed to finish as high as they did. They also did a decent, though unspectacular, job in the domestic cup competitions. Nevertheless, a quality season and one to remember for Rio Ave.

Famalicao: A+

It seems a little strange, perhaps, to give Famalicao a higher grade than Rio Ave considering they were the side that were pipped to 5th on the final day of the season. However, for a newly promoted side boasting such a youthful side, Famalicao’s season was quite simply exceptional. They were pushing for a Champions League spot very early on, and then for an automatic Europa League group stage berth, so to end up with nothing was hugely disappointing. But for a first season back in the top flight, it was quite extraordinary.

They also made it to the Portuguese Cup semi-final, and pushed Benfica close over two legs, but ultimately fell just short, losing 4-3 on aggregate. Having relied so much on the loan market last season, there’s no guarantee that they will be able to assemble as strong a squad next campaign, but this season can go down in the history books as a giant success for Famalicao, with or without Europa League.

Vitoria Guimaraes: B+

A lot of people may argue that this is a little generous considering Guimaraes fell short of their pre-season goal of 5th in the league and a spot in the Europa League. But the truth is there was very little in it, and they were well in the hunt for 5th in the league, almost until the very end. They were miles ahead of 8th, and though 7th was not what the club or fans were looking for, it was a solid season of consolidation, particularly considering the fact that they had to contend with competing in the Europa League too.

And that’s really what made this season something of a success for Guimaraes; though they will not be competing in European competition next campaign, their Europa League run this season was quite exceptional, successfully navigating through three rounds of qualifying - versus Jeunesse Esch, Ventspils and FCSB - and scoring 14 goals in the process to reach the group stage of Europe’s secondary club competition. And when there, they did a tremendous job in such a difficult group. Though they finished last, which was completely expected, they managed to pick up 5 points, earning a phenomenal victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, and drawing against Arsenal and Standard Liege. A brilliant effort, and their last place position doesn’t do them justice.

Moreirense: B+

The fact of the matter is, Moreirense finished as the ‘best of the rest’ this season, securing the 8th place position in the Primeira Liga, and I don’t think anyone could argue against that being a top drawer season for them. Having experienced such a fantastic season last campaign, where they finished 6th in the league with 52 points, many would have tipped them to have another good campaign this time around too - but not me. Having seen them lose their excellent young manager Ivo Vieira, alongside some key first-team players too, with Chiquinho departing for Benfica, and Ivanildo Fernandes and Heriberto Tavares returning to their parent clubs after excellent loan spells from Sporting and Benfica respectively, I really feared that this would be a challenging season for the club.

But how wrong I was. With excellent recruitment, bringing in the brilliant Filipe Soares from Estoril, the goal-hungry Fabio Abreu from Penafiel, left-back Abdu Conte from Sporting, and several others, Moreirense assembled a highly talented side, and with the highly competent manager Ricardo Soares taking over in December, he steered them to an excellent league finish, even if it did look like it could be a season of struggle at a couple of stages during the campaign. They also proved a difficult side to beat for the top 7 teams in the league - but did fail to earn a victory against any of them this season as too many draws was the story of their season.

CD Santa Clara: A-

If you thought last season’s 10th place finish - the highest in the club’s history - was a blip, a one-off season, you will have been very much mistaken. The Azores club actually went one better this time arround, earning a spectacular 9th place finish as they finished one place - and one point - higher than the season before. It’s a quite spectacular achievement for the club, and their manager, Joao Henriques, who has since departed, did a tremendous job.

Gil Vicente: A+

We have our second A+ of the article - and can anyone really argue against it? It’s difficult to believe that Gil Vicente were in the third tier of Portuguese football last season. Promoted directly back to the Portuguese top flight after a court ruling, you would have expected a challenging season for Gil Vicente, but some shrewd recruitment and excellent use of the loan market has seen them finish in a spectacular 10th place in their first season back. Victories over Porto, Sporting, Rio Ave and Guimaraes only made it an even more entertaining season for fans of the club.

But a man that deserves considerable praise is Vitor Oliveira. The extraordinary promotion specialist took on the daunting task of keeping Gil Vicente in the top flight - and his footballing know-how not only got them over the line, but saw them maintain their Primeira Liga status with plenty of breathing room. It could hardly have gone any better for Gil.

Maritimo: C+

Average at best for Maritimo, who were largely underwhelming over the course of the season. What gives them a slight upward marking is that they ended up surviving with relative ease thanks to a very strong end to the season, which included a fantastic 2-0 victory over Benfica, thanks in large part to a truly inspired Nanu performance. Their last day of the season effort against Famalicao, in which they drew 3-3, also deserves praise. It was a match that meant so much to their opposition, but they were hugely professional and fought for a point to the very end.

Jose Gomes came in and did what he had to do, guiding his side to safety. He did so by making his side tough to score against, and as they say, though goals may win you football matches, it’s your defence that wins you titles - or, in the case of Maritimo - leads you to relegation safety.

Boavista: C+

A rather forgettable and uneventful season for Boavista. Never really challenging for Europe, but never at risk of relegation either. They made a great start to the season with Lito Vidigal as manager - they were actually as high as 5th in the table after 12 gameweeks had been played, but they slowly fell down the table after that, bouncing around the middle of the table. A six game winning run did see them jump up to 6th at around the halfway stage, but that was short-lived, and they fell away again.

Nevertheless, Boavista were always safe, never at risk of suffering the drop, and it can be considered a decent season of consolidation for the club. Their loyal fanbase will be hoping for improvements next season though.

Pacos de Ferreira: B-

For a newly promoted team, the objective is always to maintain their top flight status. And they ended up doing that officially with one game to spare. They looked in serious trouble at the start of the season; they sacked their manager after just 4 games into the league campaign with Pacos having just one point on the board. It took a while for Pepa to improve things too, with Pacos still only having 8 points from their first 13 games. That left them in the drop zone, 3 points behind Portimonense. Back-to-back wins versus Braga and Moreirense hauled them out of trouble though as they rose out of the bottom two and never fell into the drop zone again from that point forth.

In the end, they survived with ease - and that has to be considered a good season for the Primeira Liga newcomers. Though they do have a decent squad, and maybe had hoped to do even better, especially if it hadn’t been for their poor start to the season.

CD Tondela: C+

Once again, Tondela survive relegation. They are experts at avoiding the drop, having never been relegated from the Portuguese top flight. They entered the Primeira Liga for the first time in 2015 - and though they have always been incredibly close to suffering relegation in each of the five seasons since, they have still never suffered the dreaded drop back into the second tier, which is a mighty achievement. This season was another that looked incredibly precarious. Though the season started brilliantly, with Tondela 6th in the league in gameweek 13, they ended up going on a run of just 2 wins in 19, which saw them fall into the relegation zone for the first time of the season with just two games to go.

Having to face Braga and a high-flying Moreirense, it looked like it was finally the moment that Tondela would go down - but an extraordinary victory over Braga on the penultimate day saw them climb out of the relegation zone with one game to go, and they then finished the job with a win over Moreirense. They like to make life difficult for themselves, but credit where it’s due; when they need a result, they seem to always pull it out of the bag.

Belenenses SAD: D

There’s not a lot to say about Belenenses SAD’s season. They struggled to score, scoring the joint second fewest across the league season, and they had a poor defensive record too, conceding the second most goals in the league. Indeed, only woeful Aves scored fewer and conceded more than Belenenses SAD did. It’s therefore something of a miracle that they actually preserved their place in the top flight. But they escaped, finishing two points above the drop zone.

But it was a really frustrating season for the club. In only one game all season did they manage to score more than twice in a game, in a 3-1 win over Maritimo, as they failed to find that back of the net in 15 of their 34 league outings. D is all they get, and that’s only because they escaped relegation. A massive backwards step from last season, though the performances of young Nilton Varela were perhaps a highlight.

Vitoria de Setubal: E

Poor football to have to endure, a run of 15 games without victory which saw them sink dramatically into a relegation scrap having been sitting as high as 7th on matchday 13, and finishing off the season by being expelled from professional football and automatically demoted to the third division of Portuguese football for the first time in their history despite escaping relegation on the very last day of the season thanks to a 2-0 win over Belenenses SAD.

It was ultimately a truly disastrous season for Setubal in the end - and to be honest, the start wasn’t much better. Scoring just one goal in their first 8 league matches, or 4 in their first 12, set the tone of their season, and they ended up scoring just 27 league goals across the entire campaign. The fans suffered significantly this season - and they’re set to suffer much, much more after the league’s decision to propel them to the Campeonato de Portugal.

Portimonense: D

When looking at Portimonense’s performances since the season resumed in June, it is undeniably harsh, in many ways, to only give Portimonense a D. However, despite their extraordinary end of season form, where they picked up 17 points in their final 10 matches, they ultimately still ended up finishing inside the relegation places, as their season up to that point was an absolute disaster. In fact, they picked up more points in their final 10 matches than they did in their first 24, with Portimonense stranded six points inside the relegation zone on just 16 points after 24 round had been played.

They very nearly pulled off an outstanding relegation escape, the arrival of manager Paulo Sergio in February completely rejuvinating the side. Nevertheless, while they are likely to avoid relegation due to Setubal’s expulsion from professional football, they still, at least in terms of the classification, failed to get out of the relegation zone, and for a side with as much quality as they have, that’s nowhere near good enough. D seem a generous grade overall.

Desportivo das Aves: F

Not a lot you can really say about this one. Financial mismanagement meant that Aves became a shell of their former team by the end of the season, but they were an absolute disaster on it, too, from the very beginning. 11 defeats in their first 12 league games is all you need to know about how far off the pace they were this campaign, and that they finished on a measly 17 points proves that they were completely out of their depth.

There were some considerable highlights, of course. That 1-0 victory over Braga to end their losing run was an exceptional achievement, in addition to their resilient defensive display versus FC Porto after the restart to earn an incredible 0-0 draw. They also beat Maritimo in Madeira, which even the best of Portuguese clubs find a very daunting prospect. So it wasn’t a season completely bereft of cheer. Ultimately, though, it has been an incredibly trying one for Aves fans, and their 2018 Portuguese Cup success feels a long time ago now as they head for the third division.

Jesus Corona. Photo author: Елена Рыбакова. License link.