The 2015–16 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 112th season in existence and the club's 82nd consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 9 August 2015 and concluded on 20 May 2016.
Benfica played in the Primeira Liga as the two-time defending champions after being crowned for a record 34th time, in the previous campaign. On 15 May, Benfica won their third consecutive league title (for the sixth time in their history and first since 1977), and their 35th overall, with a Portuguese record of 88 points out of the possible maximum of 102 (34 matches). Five days later, Benfica won their third consecutive league cup title, their seventh overall in nine editions, beating Marítimo 6–2 in the final. Internationally, Benfica reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by Bayern Munich 2–3 on aggregate.
Season overview Pre-season After six years as club manager, Jorge Jesus left Benfica for rivals Sporting. As a result, the board appointed Rui Vitória as the new coach.
The pre-season began on 2 July 2015, followed by five matches: a 3–2 loss against PSG, a 0–0 draw with Fiorentina, a 2–1 loss to New York Red Bulls, a 0–0 draw with Club América, and a 3–0 loss to C.F. Monterrey in the eighth edition of the Eusébio Cup at Monterrey in Mexico, held to inaugurate the Estadio BBVA Bancomer.
August-October On 9 August, Benfica played their first official match of the season in the 2015 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira against Sporting CP, losing 1–0.
After the loss to Sporting, Benfica started the league with a 4–0 win over Estoril, followed by a 1–0 away loss to Arouca and a 3–2 home win over Moreirense. In October, Benfica recorded a 6–0 home win over Belenenses and a 2–0 home win over Astana in its Champions League debut. This was followed by a 1–0 away loss to Porto, a 3–2 home win over Paços de Ferreira, and a 2–1 away win over Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, finishing the month two points behind Sporting and Porto.
October started with a 2–1 away win over Vianense in the third round of the Taça de Portugal, followed by a 2–1 away loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League and a 3–0 home loss to Sporting in the league. During the game, even with the team trailing 3–0, Benfica supporters chanted the song "Eu amo o Benfica." The month ended with a 4–0 away win over Tondela.
November-January In November, Benfica beat Galatasaray 2–1 at home in the Champions League, defeated Boavista 2–0 at home, drew 2–2 with Astana away in the Champions League, and won 2–0 away over Braga. The most notable result came in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal, when Benfica visited Estádio José Alvalade and lost 2–1 after extra time. Benfica ended the month out of the Taça de Portugal and seven points behind Sporting.
In December, Benfica won 3–0 at home against Académica, lost 2–1 at home to Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, won 4–2 at home against Vitória de Setúbal, drew 0–0 away with União da Madeira (a match originally scheduled for 4 October, but postponed), defeated Rio Ave 3–1 at home, and beat Nacional 1–0 in the Taça da Liga, finishing the year five points behind Sporting.
The new year started with a successful run: a 1–0 away win over Vitória de Guimarães, followed by a 6–0 away win over Marítimo, a 4–1 away win over Nacional, a 2–1 away win over Estoril, a 1–0 away win over Oriental in the Taça da Liga, a 3–1 home win over Arouca, a 6–1 away win over Moreirense in the Taça da Liga, and a 4–1 away league win over Moreirense, reducing Sporting’s lead to two points and qualifying for the Taça da Liga semi-finals.
February-March Benfica continued their winning streak in February with a 5–0 away victory over Belenenses, followed by a 2–1 home loss to Porto, which ended an eleven-match winning run. The team responded with a 1–0 home win over Zenit in the Champions League round of 16 first leg, followed by a 3–1 away win over Paços de Ferreira and a 2–0 home win over União da Madeira, finishing the month one point behind Sporting.
March began with a decisive league match against Sporting. Benfica entered the game after three consecutive defeats, two of which cost them trophies, and Sporting were considered favourites due to home advantage. However, Benfica won 1–0 with a goal from Kostas Mitroglou in the 20th minute, climbing to first place for the first time that season. Following this victory, Benfica defeated Zenit 2–1 away to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals, beat Tondela 4–1 at home, overcame Boavista 1–0 away with an injury-time goal from Jonas, and won 5–1 at home against Braga.
April-May In the 5th of April, Benfica faced FC Bayern Munich in Germany, losing 1-0 in the first leg of the quarter-finals. On the returned leg Benfica scored first with a goal from Raúl Jiménez tying the round, but two goals from Bayern gave Bayern the advantage, with Talisca drawing the game with a free-kick, ending 2-2 which meant Bayern advanced to the semi-finals. Stil in April wins over Académica, Vitória de Setúbal, Rio Ave and Vitória de Guimarães continued Benfica league winning streak to keep a two point advantage.
Benfica started May with a 2-1 win over Braga in the Taça da Liga semi-final, followed by a 2-0 over Maritimo away in which the team played with 10-men for almost an hour. On the 15 of May Benfica hosted Nacional, beating them 4-1 and claiming its 35th league title and its first "tricampeonato" since 1976-77. In the Taça da Liga Final, Benfica beat Maritimo 6-1, in a what was the last game of Nicolás Gaitán and breaktrough player Renato Sanches.
Players
Squad information
Transfers
In DatePlayerFromFee20 May 2015MF— Jhon Murillo19 Zamora FC2020Undisclosed26 May 2015MF— Diego Lopes21 Rio Ave2020€726,60026 May 2015GK1 Ederson21 Rio Ave2020Undisclosed27 May 2015DF3 Marçal26 Nacional2020Undisclosed27 May 2015MF— Pelé23Unattached2020Undisclosed12 June 2015MF23 Adel Taarabt26 Queens Park Rangers2020€4,000,000Quatro anos depois, a estreia de Taarabt A Bola 13 June 2015MF39 Mehdi Carcela25 Standard Liège2019Undisclosed13 August 2015FW9 Raúl Jiménez24 Atlético Madrid2020Undisclosed29 December 2015DF3 Álex Grimaldo20 Barcelona2021€2,121,0002 February 2016FW35 Luka Jović18 Red Star Belgrade2021€6,583,000
Loan in DatePlayerFromFee15 July 2015DF28 Sílvio27 Atlético Madrid30 June 2016Free6 August 2015FW11 Kostas Mitroglou27 Fulham30 June 2016Undisclosed
Out DatePlayerToFee25 May 2015DF— João Cancelo20 ValenciaUndisclosed9 June 2015MF8 Miralem Sulejmani26 Young BoysUndisclosed12 June 2015FW— Rogelio Funes Mori24 MonterreyUndisclosed12 June 2015MF— André Gomes21 Valencia15 June 2015FW— Rodrigo24 Valencia23 June 2015DF23 Loris Benito23 Young BoysUndisclosed30 June 2015MF— Airton25UnattachedEnd of contract30 June 2015GK1 Artur34UnattachedEnd of contract30 June 2015DF14 Maxi Pereira31UnattachedEnd of contract10 July 2015FW19 Ivan Cavaleiro21 MonacoUndisclosed24 July 2015FW11 Lima32 Al Ahli Club€7,000,0002 February 2016FW— Yannick Djaló29 RatchaburiEnd of contract
Loan out DatePlayerTo10 July 2015FW32 Bebé24 Rayo Vallecano30 June 201610 July 2015MF67 Hélder Costa21 Monaco30 June 201616 July 2015MF— Jhon Murillo19 Tondela30 June 201618 July 2015DF37 César22 Flamengo30 June 201620 July 2015FW9 Derley27 Kayserispor30 June 201622 July 2015MF— Diego Lopes21 Kayserispor30 June 201630 July 2015FW83 Rui Fonte25 Braga30 June 20161 August 2015MF— Pelé23 Paços de Ferreira30 June 20167 August 2015FW— Yannick Djaló29 Mordovia Saransk31 December 201514 August 2015MF6 Ruben Amorim30 Al-Wakrah30 June 201620 August 2015DF3 Marçal26 Gaziantepspor30 June 201628 August 2015MF27 Hany Mukhtar20 Red Bull Salzburg30 June 201631 August 2015MF— Daniel Candeias27 Metz30 June 20161 September 2015MF15 Ola John23 Reading30 June 20161 September 2015DF— Sidnei26 Deportivo La Coruña30 June 20164 September 2015FW16 Nélson Oliveira24 Nottingham Forest30 June 20168 January 2016MF24 Bryan Cristante20 Palermo30 June 201625 January 2016MF22 Filip Đuričić23 Anderlecht30 June 20161 February 2016MF31 Victor Andrade20 Vitória de Guimarães30 June 2016
Technical staff PositionName Head coach Rui Vitória Assistant coach Arnaldo TeixeiraSérgio BotelhoMinervino PietraMarco Pedroso Fitness coach Paulo Mourão Goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira Benfica LAB coordinator Bruno MendesPre-season friendlies
Competitions
Overall record +Performance by competitionCompetitionStarting roundFinal position/roundFirst matchLast matchPrimeira Liga 1st 16 August 2015 15 May 2016Taça de Portugal Third round Fourth round 16 October 2015 21 November 2015Taça da Liga Third round Winners 29 December 2015 20 May 2016Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira Runners-up 9 August 2015UEFA Champions League Group stage Quarter-finals 15 September 2015 13 April 2016
+ Statistics by competitionCompetitionPrimeira LigaTaça de PortugalTaça da LigaSupertaça Cândido de OliveiraUEFA Champions LeagueTotal
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Primeira Liga
League table
Results by round
Matches
Taça de Portugal
Third round
Fourth round
Taça da Liga
Third round
Semi-finals
Final
UEFA Champions League
Group stage
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Statistics
Squad statistics (B) – Benfica B player
Includes Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
Goalscorers PlayerLeagueCupLeague CupChampions LeagueTotal1FW Jonas32022362FW Kostas Mitroglou20122253FW Raúl Jiménez5043124MF Nicolás Gaitán4034115MF Talisca304296MF Pizzi800087DF Jardel311058FW Gonçalo Guedes300149MF Mehdi Carcela2100310MF Renato Sanches20002MF Andreas Samaris2000212DF Nélson Semedo10001DF Luisão00011DF Lisandro López10001DF Victor Lindelöf10001Own goals10001Totals8831615122
Hat-tricks
Player Against Result Date Competition JonasNacional4–1 (A)10 January 2016Primeira Liga TaliscaMoreirense6–1 (A)26 January 2016Taça da Liga MitroglouBelenenses5–0 (A)5 February 2016Primeira Liga (H) – Home; (A) – Away
Assists
PlayerLeagueCupLeague CupChampions LeagueTotal1MF Nicolás Gaitán15013192FW Jonas12021153MF Pizzi6230114FW Gonçalo Guedes50106MF Mehdi Carcela501066FW Raúl Jiménez10034DF André Almeida300148FW Kostas Mitroglou20013DF Eliseu1002310DF Jardel2000211MF Victor Andrade10001MF Andreas Samaris10001DF Luisão00011DF Lisandro López10001MF Talisca00101DF Nélson Semedo00101MF Renato Sanches10001Totals562101280
Clean sheets Number of matches inside brackets. PlayerLeagueCup1LeagueCupChampionsLeagueTotal1 Júlio César12 (24)0 (3)—2 (7)14 (34)2 Ederson6 (10)—2 (5)0 (3)8 (18)3 Paulo Lopes0*———0*Totals17 (34)0 (3)2 (5)2 (10)22 (52) 1Includes Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
* Shared match on Round 34 against Marítimo.
Disciplinary record
Awards
Player NameAwardMonth/Year85MF Renato SanchesSJPF Young Player of the MonthDecemberCosme Damião Award – Revelation of the Year2015CNID Revelation of the Year—LPFP Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player—LPFP Primeira Liga Best Goal—17FW JonasSJPF Player of the MonthJanuaryFebruaryMarchCosme Damião Award – Footballer of the Year2015CNID Footballer of the Year—Bola de Prata—LPFP Primeira Liga Best Player—
Manager
Name Award Month Rui VitóriaLPFP Primeira Liga Best Coach—
References