The 2019–20 Taça da Liga was the thirteenth edition of the
Taça da Liga
The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...
(also known as Allianz Cup for sponsorship reasons), a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
league cup competition organised by the
Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional
The Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (English: Portuguese Professional Football League), also known by its acronym LPFP, is a governing body that manages professional football club competitions in Portugal. It was founded in 1978 as Liga Po ...
and contested exclusively by clubs competing in the
top two professional tiers of
Portuguese football – the
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
and the
LigaPro
The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier ...
. It began on 27 July 2019 and concluded with
the final in
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
on 25 January 2020,
between
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
and
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
.
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, , who had won the previous two titles, were eliminated by
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
in the semi-finals. In a rematch of the
2013 final, Braga defeated
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
1–0 to earn its second title. Porto lost their fourth consecutive league cup final, after appearances in the
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, 2013, and
2019 finals.
Format
Ten teams placed 4th–15th in the
2018–19 LigaPro (reserve teams from Primeira Liga clubs are excluded) and the two teams promoted to the
2019–20 LigaPro
The 2019–20 LigaPro was the 30th season of Portuguese Association football, football's second-tier league, and the sixth season under the current LigaPro title. A total of 18 teams competed in this division, including reserve team, reserve sides ...
take part in the first round; one-legged ties with no
extra-time were played between twelve teams.
In the second round, the six teams advancing from the previous round are joined by the fourteen teams placed 5th–18th in the
2018–19 Primeira Liga, by the three teams promoted to
2019–20 Primeira Liga and the team placed 3rd in the 2018–19 LigaPro. Again, one-legged ties with no extra-time were played between twenty-four teams.
The third round features the twelve teams advancing from the previous round and the four best-placed teams in the 2018–19 Primeira Liga. The sixteen teams were drawn into four groups that are contested in a single round-robin schedule, with each team playing at least one game at home.
The four group winners qualify for the knockout phase, which features single-legged ties, again with no extra-time being played. The semi-finals and final are played at a neutral venue, set to be in
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
until 2020.
Tiebreakers
In the third round, teams are ranked according to
points
A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to:
Mathematics
* Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
(3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are tied on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings:
#highest
goal difference
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
in all group matches;
#highest number of scored goals in all group matches;
#lowest average age of all players fielded in all group matches (sum of the ages of all fielded players divided by the number of fielded players).
In all other rounds, teams tied at the end of regular time contest a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
to determine the winner. No
extra-time is played.
Teams
Thirty-four teams competing in the two professional tiers of Portuguese football for the 2019–20 season are eligible to participate in this competition. For teams that were either promoted or related, the final position in the previous league season determines in which round they enter the competition.
;Key:
*Nth: League position in the 2018–19 season
*P1: Promoted to the Primeira Liga
*P2: Promoted to the LigaPro
*R1: Relegated to the LigaPro
Schedule
First round
The twelve non-reserve teams competing in the
2019–20 LigaPro
The 2019–20 LigaPro was the 30th season of Portuguese Association football, football's second-tier league, and the sixth season under the current LigaPro title. A total of 18 teams competed in this division, including reserve team, reserve sides ...
entered the competition in this round. Twelve teams were paired against each other for six single-legged ties. The draw took place on 5 July 2019, and the matches were played on 27 and 28 July 2019. Games tied at the end of regular time were decided by a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
with no
extra-time being played. The first team drawn in each fixture played at home.
Notes:
Second round
In the second round, the six first-round winners joined the fourteen teams ranked 5th–18th in the
2018–19 Primeira Liga, the team ranked 3rd in the
2018–19 LigaPro and the three teams promoted to the
2018–19 Primeira Liga. Twenty-four teams were paired against each other for twelve single-legged ties. The draw took place on 5 July 2019, and the matches were played on 3 and 5 August 2019. Games tied at the end of regular time were decided by a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
with no
extra-time being played. The first team drawn in each fixture played at home.
Notes:
Third round
In the third round, the twelve second-round winners joined the four top-ranked teams from the
2018–19 Primeira Liga:
Benfica (1st),
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
(2nd),
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, (3rd) and
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
(4th). These sixteen teams were drawn into four groups of four, each group containing one of the four top-ranked Primeira Liga teams. Group matches were played in a single round-robin schedule, ensuring that each team played at least one match at home.
For the draw, the teams were seeded into four pots based on their league position in the previous season, with the teams participating in the
2018–19 Primeira Liga being seeded higher regardless of any relegation. The draw took place on 3 September 2019, and the matches were played between 25 September and 21 December 2019. The fixtures and match dates were decided by an additional draw.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Knockout phase
The knockout phase was contested as a final-four tournament by the four third-round group winners in one-legged semi-finals and final. All matches were played in a single venue, decided before the competition starts. As in the first and second round, games tied at the end of regular time were decided by a
penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
with no
extra-time being played.
The first semi-final was played between the winners of Groups A (
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
) and C (
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, ), while the second between Group B (
Vitória de Guimarães) and D (
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
) winners. Groups A and B winners (
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
and
Vitória de Guimarães, respectively) were designated as the "home" teams (for administrative purposes) in their semi-final clashes as was the winner of the first semi-final in the final. If the team that played at home in the appointed neutral stadium was still in competition, in this case
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
, they would be designated the home team regardless of which group or semi-final they played.
All matches were played at
Estádio Municipal de Braga
The Estádio Municipal de Braga (') is an All-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium located in Braga, Portugal, and the current home of S.C. Braga, Sporting Clube de Braga. It has a capacity of 30,286 spectators, maki ...
, in
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
, with the semi-finals played on 21 and 22 January, and the final on 25 January 2020.
Semi-finals
----
Final
References
External links
Liga Portugal official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Taca da Liga
Taça da Liga
Taca da Liga
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...