2017 Taça da Liga final

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]

2017 Taça da Liga Final

Estádio Algarve
Event	2016–17 Taça da Liga
Braga Moreirense 0 1
Date	29 January 2017
Venue	Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé
Man of the Match	Cauê (Moreirense)
Referee	Artur Soares Dias (Porto)
Attendance	6,713
← 2016 2018 →

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

Further information: 2016–17 Taça da Liga

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

Braga			Round	Moreirense
Opponent	Result	Stadium	First round	Opponent	Result	Stadium
Bye				Bye
Opponent	Result	Stadium	Second round	Opponent	Result	Stadium
Bye				Estoril	1–0 (H)	Parque de Jogos Almeida Freitas
Opponent	Result	Stadium	Third round	Opponent	Result	Stadium
Rio Ave	1–2 (H)	Estádio Municipal de Braga	Matchday 1	Feirense	1–2 (A)	Estádio Marcolino de Castro
Sporting da Covilhã	4–0 (H)	Estádio Municipal de Braga	Matchday 2	Belenenses	3–3 (H)	Parque de Jogos Almeida Freitas
Marítimo	0–1 (A)	Estádio do Marítimo	Matchday 3	Porto	1–0 (H)	Parque de Jogos Almeida Freitas
Group C winners Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Braga 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 6 Rio Ave 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6 Marítimo 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 Sporting da Covilhã 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6 1			Final standings	Group B winners Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Moreirense 3 2 1 0 6 4 +2 7 Belenenses 3 0 3 0 5 5 0 3 Feirense 3 0 2 1 4 5 –1 2 Porto 3 0 2 1 1 2 –1 2
Opponent	Result	Stadium	Knockout phase	Opponent	Result	Stadium
Vitória de Setúbal	0–3 (N)	Estádio Algarve	Semi-finals	Benfica	3–1 (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

29 January 2017

20:45 WET (UTC±00:00)

Braga	0–1	Moreirense
	Report	Cauê   45+2' (pen.)

Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé

Attendance: 6,713

Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Porto)

Braga

Moreirense

GK 92   Matheus   45' RB 22   Paulinho CB 44   Artur Jorge   25'   79' CB 2   Emiliano Velázquez LB 15   Baiano CM 5   Rodrigo Battaglia CM 80   Xeka   46' RW 23   Pedro Santos (c) LW 21   Ricardo Horta   65' CF 19   Nikola Stojiljković CF 17   Rui Fonte   90+5' Substitutes: GK 28   José Marafona DF 3   Lazar Rosić DF 82   Anthony D'Alberto MF 14   Rafael Assis MF 35   Nikola Vukčević   84'   46' FW 13   Rodrigo Pinho   65' FW 30   Alan   79' Manager:   Jorge Simão

GK 1   Giorgi Makaridze   63' RB 95   Pierre Sagna   89' CB 3   André Micael (c) CB 44   Diego Galo LB 5   Pedro Rebocho DM 18   Cauê DM 65   Fernando Alexandre CM 8   Francisco Geraldes   28' RW 56   Daniel Podence LW 93   Ousmane Dramé   44'   61' CF 9   Roberto   61' Substitutes: GK 99   Pedro Taborda DF 6   Jander DF 14   Diego Ivo MF 16   Nildo Petrolina   61' MF 20   Tiago Morgado FW 21   David Ramírez FW 29   Emmanuel Boateng   61' 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.

References

1. [Competition's final-four will be held at Estádio Algarve]. Record (in Portuguese). 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
2. "Cinco equipas descem em 2015/16 na 2.ª Liga" [Cinco teams are relegated from the Segunda Liga in 2015/16]. Record (in Portuguese). 19 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
3. "TAÇA CTT COM 'FINAL FOUR'" [TAÇA CTT WITH 'FINAL FOUR']. Record (in Portuguese). 28 June 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
4. "Maturidade leva Braga à final" [Maturity takes Braga to the final] (in Portuguese). Zerozero.pt. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
5. "Braga 1-0 Porto" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
6. "Correio transviado do destinatário habitual" [Mail lost by the usual receiver] (in Portuguese). Zerozero.pt. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
7. "Moreirense vs Braga" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
8. "Braga 2-1 Moreirense" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
9. "Moreirense 1-0 Estoril" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
10. "Feirense 1-2 Moreirense" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
11. "Moreirense 3-3 Belenenses" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
12. "Moreirense 1-0 FC Porto" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
13. "Moreirense 3-1 Benfica" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
14. "Boateng fez história ao bisar contra o Benfica" [Boateng made history scoring twice against Benfica] (in Portuguese). zerozero. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
15. "Triunfo histórico com Inácio a repetir proeza 17 anos depois" [Historic triumph with Inacio repeating feat 17 years later] (in Portuguese). zerozero. 27 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
16. "Benfica vs Moreirense" (in Portuguese). zerozero. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
17. "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. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
18. "Programação do dia 29 Jan, 2017" [Schedule of the day 29 Jan, 2017]. RTP. RtP. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
19. "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. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
20. "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. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
21. "Taça da Liga vai ser disputada em formato de "final four"" [Taça da Liga will be contested in a «final four» format] (in Portuguese). maisfutebol. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
22. [Regulations of the Competitions organized by the Portuguese Professional Football League] (PDF) (in Portuguese). LPFP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
23. [Final-four will be contested in Estádio Algarve] (in Portuguese). Record. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.