2017 Taça da Liga final explained

2017 Taça da Liga Final
Event:2016–17 Taça da Liga
Team1:Braga
Team1score:0
Team2:Moreirense
Team2score:1
Date:29 January 2017
Stadium:Estádio Algarve
City:Faro/Loulé
Man Of The Match1a:Cauê (Moreirense)
Referee:Artur Soares Dias (Porto)
Attendance:6,713
Previous:2016
Next:2018

The 2017 Taça da Liga Final was the final match of the 2016–17 Taça da Liga, the tenth season of the Taça da Liga. It was played on 29 January 2017 at Estádio Algarve.[1]

The competition involved the 35 clubs playing in the top two tiers of the Portuguese football league system – 18 from Primeira Liga and 17 from Segunda Liga – during the 2016–17 season. Reserve sides of Primeira Liga teams which played in the 2016–17 Segunda Liga were excluded from the competition.

Moreirense defeated Braga 1–0 to win their first national cup in their first appearance in a national cup final.

Background

On 19 June 2015, the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional ("LPFP") announced that the number of teams in the 2016–17 LigaPro season would be reduced to 22, thus reducing the number of teams that would play in the Taça da Liga from 37 to 35.[2]

On 28 June 2016, the LPFP approved some changes in relation to the semi-finals matches. It was settled that both the semi-finals and final match were to be played in the same week and in the same stadium.[3]

Braga made their second appearance in the Taça da Liga final after their first final in 2013, where they defeated Porto 1–0.[4] [5] Moreirense had their first appearance in any national competition final in the club's history.[6] Both clubs are from Braga Football Association.

In Braga's and Moreirense's entire history, the two teams had played one another 15 times – Braga won eight matches, Moreirense won one match and the teams drew six matches.[7] Before the final, the last meeting between both sides had been in the domestic league, on 22 December 2016, with hosts Braga defeating Moreirense 2–1.[8]

Route to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away; N: neutral).

BragaRoundMoreirense
OpponentResultStadiumFirst roundOpponentResultStadium
ByeBye
OpponentResultStadiumSecond roundOpponentResultStadium
ByeEstoril1–0 (H)Parque de Jogos Almeida Freitas
OpponentResultStadiumThird roundOpponentResultStadium
Rio Ave1–2 (H)Estádio Municipal de BragaMatchday 1Feirense1–2 (A)Estádio Marcolino de Castro
Sporting da Covilhã4–0 (H)Estádio Municipal de BragaMatchday 2Belenenses3–3 (H)Parque de Jogos Almeida Freitas
Marítimo0–1 (A)Estádio do MarítimoMatchday 3Porto1–0 (H)Parque de Jogos Almeida Freitas
Group C winners
width=175 Teamwidth=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20
Braga320162+46
Rio Ave320142+26
Marítimo31112204
Sporting da Covilhã301217−61
Final standingsGroup B winners
width=175 Teamwidth=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20 width=20
Moreirense321064+27
Belenenses30305503
Feirense302145–12
Porto302112–12
OpponentResultStadiumKnockout phaseOpponentResultStadium
Vitória de Setúbal0–3 (N)Estádio AlgarveSemi-finalsBenfica3–1 (N)Estádio Algarve

Braga

Braga entered the 2016–17 Taça da Liga in the third round. The third round consisted of three group stage matches with the group winner progressing to the semi-finals. Braga were drawn in group B, alongside Primeira Liga sides Rio Ave, Marítimo and Segunda Liga's Sporting da Covilhã.

Moreirense

Moreirense entered the competition in the second round. They won a home match against Estoril 1–0, with Frédéric Maciel scoring the goal.[9]

In the next stage, Moreirense were drawn into Group C together with Feirense, Belenenses and Porto. Moreirense's first match was away against Feirense on 1 December. Moreirense defeated the Santa Maria da Feira-based side 1–2 with goals from Ença Fati and Emmanuel Boateng, both in the first half.[10] Moreirense's second group stage match was a home tie against Belenenses which ended 3–3. Moreirense took the lead on 34 minutes through Roberto, who then scored an own goal in the 20th minute of the second half. André Sousa and Miguel Rosa gave a 1–3 lead to Belenenses before Cauê converted a penalty. Roberto scored his second goal to seal a draw.[11] Their third and final group stage match was a 1–0 victory against Porto on 3 January, with Francisco Geraldes scoring the only goal of the match.[12]

In the semi-finals played on 26 January, Moreirense played Benfica. The first half saw Benfica dominate possession and score an early goal from Eduardo Salvio. In the first minute of second half, winger Ousmane Dramé scored to level the score. On the 54th minute, Boateng scored another goal for the Cónegos, assisted by Cauê. Eighteen minutes later, he scored again, this time assisted by Daniel Podence, becoming the first player to score two goals against Benfica in a Taça da Liga match.[13] [14] This result marked Benfica's first defeat in the competition since 31 October 2007 and put an end to a 42-match unbeaten run.[15] This was also Moreirense's first ever win over Benfica in 20 matches.[16]

Pre-match

Broadcasting

The final was broadcast by RTP on TV (RTP1, RTP Internacional, RTP África) and Radio (Antena 1).[17] [18] TV coverage was shared with Sport TV.

Officials

Match officials were confirmed on 27 January, when Artur Soares Dias of Porto was named the referee for the final. Soares Dias was assisted by Rui Tavares (Porto) and Nuno Pereira (Coimbra). The fourth official was João Silva (Porto), while the additional assistant referees were Hélder Malheiro (Lisbon) and Luís Ferreira (Braga).[19]

Ticketing

Tickets for the final four went on sale on 19 December.[20] The LPFP allocated tickets for both finalist clubs with prices for the match varying between €5 and €15.

Venue

On 28 June 2016, the LPFP announced that both the semi-finals and final would be played at a neutral venue.[21] On 15 July, the Estádio Algarve was selected to host the final four.[22] [23]

The Estádio Algarve had previously hosted the Taça da Liga final three times, in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The first one was won by Vitória de Setúbal (after a penalty shoot-out), while the last two were won by Benfica.

The Estádio Algarve holds a capacity for 30,002 spectators and was opened in 2004 ahead of UEFA Euro 2004.

Match

Details

width=25!width=25
GK 92
RB 22 Paulinho
CB 44
CB 2 Emiliano Velázquez
LB 15 Baiano
CM 5 Rodrigo Battaglia
CM 80
RW 23 Pedro Santos (c)
LW 21
CF 19 Nikola Stojiljković
CF 17
Substitutes:
GK 28 José Marafona
DF 3 Lazar Rosić
DF 82 Anthony D'Alberto
MF 14 Rafael Assis
MF 35
FW 13
FW 30
Manager:
Jorge Simão
width=25!width=25
GK 1
RB 95
CB 3 André Micael (c)
CB 44 Diego Galo
LB 5 Pedro Rebocho
DM 18 Cauê
DM 65 Fernando Alexandre
CM 8
RW 56 Daniel Podence
LW 93
CF 9
Substitutes:
GK 99 Pedro Taborda
DF 6 Jander
DF 14 Diego Ivo
MF 16
MF 20 Tiago Morgado
FW 21 David Ramírez
FW 29
Manager:
Augusto Inácio
Man of the Match:
Cauê (Moreirense)

Assistant referees


Rui Tavares (Porto)
Nuno Pereira (Coimbra)
Fourth official


João Silva (Porto)
Additional assistant referees


Hélder Malheiro (Lisbon)
Luís Ferreira (Braga)

Match rules
  • 90 minutes.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Notes and References

  1. News: Final-four da prova será disputada no Estádio Algarve. Competition's final-four will be held at Estádio Algarve. Record. Portuguese. 15 July 2016. 16 July 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160716140547/http://www.record.xl.pt/futebol/futebol-nacional/taca-ctt/detalhe/final-four-da-prova-sera-disputada-no-estadio-algarve.html. 16 July 2016. dead. dmy-all.
  2. News: Cinco equipas descem em 2015/16 na 2.ª Liga. Cinco teams are relegated from the Segunda Liga in 2015/16. Record. Portuguese. 19 June 2015. 23 June 2015.
  3. News: TAÇA CTT COM 'FINAL FOUR'. TAÇA CTT WITH 'FINAL FOUR'. Record. Portuguese. 28 June 2016. 29 June 2016.
  4. News: Maturidade leva Braga à final. Maturity takes Braga to the final. Zerozero.pt. portuguese. 25 January 2017. 26 January 2017.
  5. News: Braga 1-0 Porto. zerozero. portuguese. 26 January 2017.
  6. News: Correio transviado do destinatário habitual. Mail lost by the usual receiver . Zerozero.pt. Portuguese. 26 January 2017. 26 January 2017.
  7. News: Moreirense vs Braga. zerozero. portuguese. 26 January 2017.
  8. News: Braga 2-1 Moreirense. zerozero. portuguese. 26 January 2017.
  9. News: Moreirense 1-0 Estoril. zerozero. portuguese. 30 January 2017.
  10. News: Feirense 1-2 Moreirense. zerozero. portuguese. 30 January 2017.
  11. News: Moreirense 3-3 Belenenses. zerozero. portuguese. 30 January 2017.
  12. News: Moreirense 1-0 FC Porto. zerozero. portuguese. 30 January 2017.
  13. News: Moreirense 3-1 Benfica. zerozero. portuguese. 30 January 2017.
  14. News: Boateng fez história ao bisar contra o Benfica. Boateng made history scoring twice against Benfica. zerozero. portuguese. 27 January 2016. 30 January 2017.
  15. News: Triunfo histórico com Inácio a repetir proeza 17 anos depois. Historic triumph with Inacio repeating feat 17 years later. zerozero. portuguese. 27 January 2016. 30 January 2017.
  16. News: Benfica vs Moreirense. zerozero. portuguese. 30 January 2017.
  17. Web site: RTP dá 1,6 milhões por direitos da Taça da Liga para dois anos. RTP gives 1.6 million for League Cup rights for two years . observador. 25 August 2016. 24 January 2017.
  18. Web site: Programação do dia 29 Jan, 2017. Schedule of the day 29 Jan, 2017. RTP. RtP. 24 January 2017.
  19. News: Artur Soares Dias nomeado para a final da Taça da Liga. Artur Soares Dias named for the Taça da Liga final. O Jogo. 30 January 2017. 30 January 2017.
  20. News: Taça da Liga: bilhetes para a Final Four à venda na segunda-feira. Taça da Liga: tickets for the final four go on sale on monday. maisfutebol. 24 January 2017. 16 December 2016.
  21. Web site: Taça da Liga vai ser disputada em formato de "final four". Taça da Liga will be contested in a «final four» format. maisfutebol. 24 January 2017. Portuguese.
  22. Web site: Regulamento das Competições organizadas pela Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional. Regulations of the Competitions organized by the Portuguese Professional Football League. LPFP. 15 July 2016. Portuguese. PDF. https://web.archive.org/web/20160803114104/http://www.ligaportugal.pt/media/102397/regulamento-das-competicoes-2016-2017.pdf. 3 August 2016. dead. dmy-all.
  23. Web site: Final-four da prova será disputada no Estádio Algarve. Final-four will be contested in Estádio Algarve. Record. 24 January 2017. Portuguese. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202044657/http://www.record.pt/futebol/futebol-nacional/taca-ctt/detalhe/final-four-da-prova-sera-disputada-no-estadio-algarve.html. 2 February 2017. dead.