• Primeira Liga,
• Desportivo das Aves,
• Vitoria de Setubal
• LigaPro
• Campeonato de Portugal

Vitória de Setúbal and Desportivo das Aves have been forcefully relegated down to the Campeonato de Portugal, the third tier of Portuguese football, after failing to present the necessary requirements for professional registration ahead of the 2020/21 season.

The decision, imposed by Liga Portugal’s Supervisory Board, forbids both sides from competing at a professional level, hence the drop to the third division, although Vitória and Aves can still appeal the decision.

Liga NOS 2019/20 finally drew to a close on another dramatic weekend. The league title may have already been settled but there was plenty left to dispute albeit the huge headline fixtures did not carry the weight that fans hoped they would.

Still, the combination of the Lisbon derby between Benfica and Sporting as well as Porto taking on Braga brought about some drama, the latter sneaking into 3rd place at the expense of Lions following 2-1 scores in favour and against the top 3 hopefuls.

Rio Ave grabbed the last remaining Europa League place courtesy of the latest of equalisers by Marítimo against Famalicão. Down at the bottom there was one relegation slot to be filled and it was ultimately done so by Portimonense, whose defeat of already-downed Aves proved insufficient.

In classic fashion it was Tondela who avoided the drop and this time PortuGOAL Figure of the Week Natxo González was the man leading the charge and writing his name into the club’s modern history as the latest “great escape coach” on what is an ever-expanding list.

• Tondela
• Portimonense
• Vitoria de Setubal

Portimonense have been relegated from the Primeira Liga, despite defeating Desportivo das Aves 2-0 at home, after both Tondela and Vitória de Setúbal secured their stay with wins of their own.

The team from Portimão required a win and losses elsewhere to stay up on the final day of the Liga NOS season, holding up their end of the bargain with joy against Aves, also relegated to the second division.

Portimonense’s great escape was undone by wins in Moreira de Conegos and Setúbal, however, as Tondela bettered Moreirense with a 2-1 win alongside Vitória’s 2-0 victory against Belenenses, keeping both sides up. 

• Benfica
• Sporting,
• FC Porto,
• Sporting de Braga,
• Rio Ave
• FC Famalicao

Sporting have fallen into fourth place on the final day of the season after a 2-1 loss to Benfica at the Estádio da Luz opened up a route for Braga to claim a top-three finish, defeating Porto 2-1 at home.

With both sides in action simultaneously, Benfica placed their rival in a spot of bother when scoring late through Carlos Vinícius to clinch a 2-1 win at home to the Lions, as Braga faced off against the newly-crowned Primeira Liga champions, Porto.

The loss left the Lions vulnerable after the Arsenalistas turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 turnaround at the Estadio Municipal de Braga, consequently overtaking Sporting and sealing an automatic route to next season’s Europa League group stages.

Elsewhere, Rio Ave completed the Primeira Liga’s top five in the ever-evolving tussle for the final qualifying spot for Europa League football, taking advantage of FC Famalicão’s 3-3 draw to Marítimo to leapfrog the former with a 2-0 win against Boavista. Here’s how the story unfolded on a action-packed final day at the top of the table.