The 'incarnates' started off on the wrong foot, losing 3-2 at the Bessa, and despite briefly taking the lead, they were relegated to a secondary role, which nevertheless paved the way to the never negligible Champions League. In a group full of established players and with two world champions -- Argentines Otamendi and Di María --, it was up to midfielder João Neves to play the leading role in the team coached by Roger Schmidt, who finished the season to the sound of whistles from Benfica fans. One year after being crowned national champion, but already in evident decline compared to the brilliant start of his career in Lisbon, the German coach was penalized for his mistakes, both in choosing a 'starting eleven' and in building the squad. If there was a position in which Benfica was most adrift, it was that of striker, a consequence of the departure of Gonçalo Ramos, which Musa, Tengstedt, Arthur Cabral and winter signing Marcos Leonardo did not fill, but the absence of Spaniard Grimaldo on the left side of the defense was also keenly felt. The tribulations began right at the goal and the way in which Greek goalkeeper Vlachodimos was 'swapped', after the defeat at Bessa, for Trubin, although the Ukrainian bears less responsibility for the failure. Otamenti and António Silva remained in the center of the defense, but the sector proved to be less solid, as Czech Jurásek and Spaniards Bernat and Carreras did not make Grimaldo forgotten. Schmidt found himself obliged to adapt Brazilian center-back Morato and to divert the multifaceted Norwegian Aursnes from midfield, which received the most expensive signing in Portuguese football, Turk Kökçü, who never justified the 25 million euros (ME) paid to the Dutch Feyenoord. The return of Di María brought some of the announced magic, but it was Rafa who emerged from the mediocrity of the Benfica attack, as evidenced by the 12 assists and 14 goals in the championship. After the false start against Boavista, Benfica won nine of the following 10 games, including the home matches against FC Porto (1-0) and Sporting (2-1), with two goals in stoppage time, from João Neves and Tengstedt. Schmidt's 'starting eleven' rose to the lead, on equal points with their Lisbon rivals, but quickly fell, after consecutive draws with Moreirense and Farense, before a new series of seven triumphs sealed their return to the lead, but with Sporting having a game in hand. This 'artificial' advantage lasted a short time and the thrashing suffered at the Dragão, by 5-0, four rounds later, on the 24th, returned the 'lions' to the lead. The 'incarnates' still kept as much pressure as possible on the commander for a few weeks, but definitively mortgaged the title defense by losing in Alvalade by 2-1, on the 28th round.