Liga NOS 2018/19 was another memorable campaign in which we witnessed individual performances of the highest quality week in week out.

The aim of the Figure of the Week feature is to capture said displays but with the intention of representing no individual more than once (otherwise the likes of João Félix and Bruno Fernandes would have shared the honour throughout!)

It also provides a nice opportunity to promote performances and stories of those from the lesser known teams, particularly to audiences outside of Portugal. My particular intention was to attempt to represent all clubs in the league as evenly as possible, within reason in terms of how each round of matches panned out.

With that in mind I thought I’d produce a feature with the chance to look back at each article from each gameweek from the season gone, and also a couple of interesting accompanying numbers. Enjoy!

• Taça de Portugal

Sporting have won the Taça de Portugal after a hard-fought 2-2 draw, overcoming Porto’s last-minute equaliser in extra-time to triumph 5-4 on penalties.

Porto were the first to break the deadlock in an emotional cup final through Tiquinho Soares in the first half prior to Bruno Fernandes’ equaliser just before half time.

No goals in the second period meant extra-time action where Sporting eventually took the lead via Bas Dost. Felipe, with seconds to spare, dragged Porto back into the tussle ahead of a penalty shoot-out, with Sporting striker Luiz Phellype’s striking the winning spot-kick.

The final weekend of Liga NOS 2018/19 confirmed Benfica to regain the league title from Porto, who did their part by beating their upcoming Taça de Portugal opponents Sporting but the Eagles comfortable win over Santa Clara was the deciding factor.

The only other major business to attend to was down at the bottom as Tondela and Chaves squared off in a relegation showdown. Chaves only needed a draw to confirm their top flight status but were blown away by final day specialists Tondela, who flew out of the blocks and ultimately trounced their opponents. Forward Jhon Murillo was in outstanding form throughout and he is PortuGOAL’s final Figure of the Week for the campaign.

• Benfica
• Bruno Lage

As expected, Benfica swept aside Santa Clara at the Estádio da Luz this afternoon to become Portuguese champions in 2018/19. Goals from Seferovic (x2), João Félix and Rafa Silva meant Porto’s comeback victory against Sporting was in vain as the Eagles finished on 87 points, two ahead of their northern rivals.

It completes a remarkable turnaround for Benfica. When losing 2-0 to Portimonense in January, the Lisbon giants dropped to 4^th place in the table and were 7 points behind leaders Porto. Coach Rui Vitória was sacked, Bruno Lage was put in charge, initially on a temporary basis… and the rest is history.

Here are five reasons why Benfica’s supporters will be celebrating long and hard in the Portuguese capital tonight.