French, German and Italian opposition await Portugal’s Big Three after European draws

Benfica, Sporting and Porto today learned their playoff opponents in the next phase of the UEFA club competitions.

In the Champions League playoffs, Benfica will face Monaco and Sporting will take on Borussia Dortmund. Porto were drawn against Roma in the Europa League. 

Monaco rematch

Curiously, Benfica played Monaco in the league phase of the newly designed competition in November, beating the team from the Principality 3-2 in a thriller at the Stade Louis II, thanks to a magical display by Ángel Di María. The first leg will be at the same venue.

While Benfica will be relatively pleased by their playoff opponents, should the Eagles overcome the Ligue 1 club they will face a much tougher proposition in the round of sixteen, with either Liverpool or Barcelona awaiting Bruno Lage’s team.

Tough assignment for Sporting

To reach the last 16, Sporting will have to beat Borussia Dortmund in the playoff. Normally the German giants would represent a daunting task, but they are having a poor season, and currently languish in 11th place in the Bundesliga having won only 7 of their 19 games.

The Lions can also take heart from the 2021/22 Champions League group phase, when they knocked the Germans out of the competition thanks to a Sporting 3-1 Dortmund scoreline in Lisbon in the last match of the group stage. Nevertheless, Dortmund will be favourites to progress, especially as they play the second leg at home in front of the famous “Yellow Wall”.

If Sporting pull off a surprise and knock out Borussia, they will play either Lille or Aston Villa in the round of sixteen. Sporting beat Lille 2-0 in their first match of the 2024/25 Champions League season.  

Porto’s Italian mission

Porto are Portugal’s lone representatives in the Europa League. The Dragons have been drawn against Italian club Roma in the playoff. Should they knock out the Serie A club, they will face either another Italian team, Lazio, or Spanish side Athletic Bilbao in the round of sixteen.

Vitória eye progress

The other Primeira Liga club surviving in Europe, Vitória, averted the need for a playoff after a brilliant Conference League campaign. The northerners will have to wait until after the playoffs have been completed to learn their next opponents, which have been narrowed down to four possibilities: Gent (Belgium), Real Betis (Spain), Copenhagen (Denmark) or FC Heidenheim.

One thing is certain for the Guimarães club however. Should they progress deep into the competition, they can only cross paths with the overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy, Chelsea, in the final.

By Tom Kundert