"We are in first place, and we are going to Porto and will be champions." These are the words of Benfica's Maxi Pereira, who showed his confidence after Benfica failed to defeat Estoril at the Estádio da Luz on Monday night. If drawing against Estoril at home was not bad enough, the Águias will now play at the Estádio do Dragão on Saturday with a slim two point lead.
Even if Benfica went into this match with a four point lead, this rivalry is much more than just a title match. Neither team wants to lose to their biggest rival, especially when they both have the possibility of claiming a domestic title.
I'm not exactly sure anyone could have scripted this finish any better.
Benfica has played second fiddle to Porto for such a long time, and after having a four point lead heading into the final three matches, that lead now gets cut to two points, making Saturday's match so much more important.
Just last week, all signs pointed to Porto playing this match in hopes of just not allowing Benfica to celebrate the title at their stadium. Now, the not only want to stop them from claiming the title, but the hosts could very well leap from the Águias in the league table.
Who would have expected this?
For weeks now, Porto's manager has been talking about how things were becoming more and more difficult for his side to reclaim the Portuguese League title, but after all that doubt, Vítor Pereira now has a chance to prove a point.
Some may ask -- exactly what can he prove? Well for starters, the Porto manager has been crucified all season for his decisions. From making poor substitutions to his choice of words in the media, most Porto fans are still hoping the Portuguese manager is no longer with the club come next season.
But, if Porto is able to defeat Benfica on Saturday, I think it is safe to say that he may have secured himself another year at the helm?
Here is a manager who worked closely with André Villas-Boas, and to some extent, you can see from his body language and tactics that he learned something from the Tottenham manager. Last season, he led Porto to a league title, and this year, his side has yet to lose a league match, so why all the doubt in his abilities?
A victory over Benfica will likely silence all his critics, even if just for the time being, but anything other than the full three points will reignite the hatred.
Saturday's match was already going to be difficult, but fortunately for Jorge Jesus, his side would be happy with a draw, something Porto most likely would not accept. Winning the match for Porto would mean that they would have a one point lead over Benfica heading into their final match against Paços de Ferreira at the Mata Real. They would then need to win their final match in order to only depend on themselves to win the title.
For the current league leaders, a draw at the Dragão would suffice, with their final match coming at home against relegation bound Moreirense. While their final fixture is not a guaranteed victory, it is safe to say that Porto's match should be much more difficult.
Fans must now sit and wait patiently as both clubs will partake in their usual media battles leading up to Saturday's match. The battle of words will set the tone, but hopefully the match will be decided on the pitch.
Will Benfica be able to hold onto their lead heading into the final match of the season, or will everything come undone right before their eyes at the Estádio do Dragão?
