2013–14 S.L. Benfica season


The 2013–14 season was Sport Lisboa e Benfica's 110th season in existence and the club's 80th consecutive season in the top flight of Portuguese football. It involved Benfica competing in the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga, the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, and the knockout phase in the UEFA Europa League. Benfica qualified for the Champions League by coming second in the previous Primeira Liga.
On 4 June 2013, coach Jorge Jesus renewed his contract for a further two seasons, making him the first manager since Otto Glória in 1958–59 to start a fifth consecutive season at Benfica.
The season was one of the best in Benfica's history, as the club won its 33rd title, its fifth Taça da Liga, reached the Europa League final for the second consecutive season and won its 25th Taça de Portugal achieving the tenth double of the club.
By winning the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga, Benfica achieved a unique treble in Portugal. Benfica also finished the season unbeaten in home matches, and the 57 games played are a club record for a single season.

Events

Pre-season

The pre-season started on 1 July 2013 with medical evaluations on the players. After a brief period of exercising at the Caixa Futebol Campus the team was due to travel on 8 July for Évian-les-Bains in France, but on 6 July, it chooses to stay at Futebol Campus instead of travelling to France, but still maintained the three pre-season games against Ètoile Carouge, Bordeaux and Sion. The team participated in the semi-finals of the tournament Lisbon Football Association Honour's Cup, where they played against Sporting CP B, using a mix of first team players like Ola John, Rodrigo or Jardel, with the remaining players from Benfica B. In the 3rd/4th place match, Benfica fielded a team with only one first-team player, Paulo Lopes. On 24, 26 and 27 July, Benfica faced Peñarol, Levante and Nice at Estádio Algarve, respectively. On 31 July, Benfica played Elche on their presentation game in Elche. They then took part in the sixth edition of the Eusébio Cup against São Paulo on 3 August, ending their pre-season on 9 August against Napoli as part of the MSC Crociere Cup.

August

Players

Squad information

Transfers in

Total expenditure: €27.0 million

Transfers out

Technical staff

Pre-season friendlies

Competitions

Overview

Primeira Liga

League table

Results summary

Results by round

Matches

Taça de Portugal

Third round

Fourth round

Fifth round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Taça da Liga

Group stage

Knockout phase

Semi-finals
Final

UEFA Champions League

Benfica began their Champions League campaign in the group stage after achieving a top-two finish in the league's previous season. Courtesy of their UEFA coefficient, they were seeded in Pot 1 for the draw, which took place in Monaco in late August 2013. The final of the competition is to be played at Benfica's home stadium Estádio da Luz.

Group stage

UEFA Europa League

Knockout phase

Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final

Overall record

Player statistics

! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Goalkeepers
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Defenders

! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Midfielders
! colspan="15" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center;"| Strikers