2015–16 Taça da Liga

2015–16 Taça da Liga
Taça CTT
Country  Portugal
Dates 1 August 2015 – 20 May 2016
Teams 37
Matches played 47
Goals scored 119 (2.53 per match)
← 2014–15 2016–17 →
All statistics correct as of 2 May 2016.

The 2015–16 Taça da Liga is the ninth edition of the Taça da Liga, a football cup competition organized by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) and contested exclusively by clubs competing in the top two professional tiers of Portuguese football. As of the 2015–16 season, the competition is sponsored by CTT and known as Taça CTT.[1][2]

A total of 37 teams are contesting this tournament, including 18 teams from the 2015–16 Primeira Liga and 19 non-reserve teams from the 2015–16 LigaPro. The competition format suffered changes relative to the previous season, with the first round (round-robin group stage) and second round (two-legged ties) being converted into single-legged knockout rounds.

Benfica are the current holders, having beaten Marítimo 2–1 in the previous season's final to extend their record in this competition to six wins.

Format

The competition format for the 2015–16 season consists of three rounds followed by a knockout phase (semi-finals and final), but presents changes relative to the previous season. Nineteen teams competing in the 2015–16 LigaPro (reserve teams from Primeira Liga clubs are excluded) take part in the first round; one-legged ties are played between eighteen teams, with the nineteenth team receiving a bye to the next round.

In the second round, the ten teams advancing from the previous round (nine winners plus the team with a bye) are joined by the twelve teams placed 5th–16th in the 2014–15 Primeira Liga and by the two teams promoted to 2015–16 Primeira Liga. Again, one-legged ties are played between the twenty-four teams, with the winners advancing to the third round.

The third round features the twelve winners of the previous round and the four best-placed teams in the 2014–15 Primeira Liga. The sixteen teams are drawn into four groups that are contested in a single round-robin format, with each team playing at least one game at home. The four group winners qualify for the semi-finals, which are played as single-legged ties. The final is played at a neutral venue.[3]

Round Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
First round
(19 teams)
Second round
(24 teams)
  • 9 winners from the first round
  • 1 team that received a bye
Third round
(16 teams)
  • 12 winners from the second round
Semi-finals
(4 teams)
  • 4 group winners from the third round
Final
(2 teams)
  • 2 winners from the semi-finals

Tiebreakers

In the third round, teams are ranked according to points (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:

  1. highest goal difference in all group matches;
  2. highest number of scored goals in all group matches;
  3. 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 to determine the winner.

Teams

Thirty-seven teams competing in the two professional tiers of Portuguese football for the 2015–16 season are eligible to participate in this competition. For Primeira Liga teams, the final league position in the previous season determines in which round they enter the competition.

Third round (Primeira Liga)
Benfica (1st)Porto (2nd)Sporting CP (3rd)Braga (4th)
Second round (Primeira Liga)
Vitória de Guimarães (5th)Belenenses (6th)Nacional (7th)Paços de Ferreira (8th)
Marítimo (9th)Rio Ave (10th)Moreirense (11th)Estoril (12th)
Boavista (13th)Vitória de Setúbal (14th)Académica (15th)Arouca (16th)
Tondela (P1)União da Madeira (P1)
First round (LigaPro)
Gil Vicente (R1)Penafiel (R1)Chaves (3rd)Sporting da Covilhã (4th)
Feirense (7th)Freamunde (8th)Farense (11th)Académico de Viseu (12th)
Portimonense (14th)Oriental (15th)Olhanense (16th)Oliveirense (17th)
Desportivo das Aves (18th)Santa Clara (19th)Leixões (20th)Atlético CP (22nd)
Mafra (P2)Famalicão (P2)Varzim (P2)
Key

Schedule

All draws are held at the LPFP headquarters in Porto, except for the draw for the first and second rounds, which took place in Loulé.

Round Draw date Match date(s) Teams Fixtures
First round 4 July 2015 1–2 August 2015 37 → 28 9
Second round September – October 2015 28 → 16 12
Third round Matchday 1 28 October 2015 29–30 December 2015 16 → 4 24
Matchday 2 19–21 January 2016
Matchday 3 26–28 January 2016
Knockout phase Semi-finals 9–11 February 2016 4 → 2 2
Final 20 May 2016 2 → 1 1

Source: LPFP[4]

First round

The 19 non-reserve teams competing in the 2015–16 LigaPro entered the competition in this round. Eighteen teams were paired against each other for nine single-legged ties, while the nineteenth team (Famalicão) was given a bye to the next round.[3] The draw took place on 4 July 2015, and matches were played on 1–2 August 2015.

Second round

In the second round, the nine first-round winners and Famalicão, who were given a bye to this round, joined the 12 teams ranked 5th–16th in the 2014–15 Primeira Liga and the two teams promoted from the 2014–15 Segunda Liga. These 24 teams were paired against each other into 12 single-legged ties, with the winners advancing to the next round.[3] The draw took place on 4 July 2015, and matches were played through September and October 2015.

Third round

In the third round, the 12 second-round winners joined the four top-ranked teams from the 2014–15 Primeira Liga: Benfica (1st), Porto (2nd), Sporting CP (3rd) and Braga (4th). These 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four, each group containing one of the four top-ranked Primeira Liga teams. Group matches are played in a single round-robin format, ensuring that each team plays at least one match at home.[3] The draw took place on 28 October 2015, 12:00 WET, and matches were played on 15 November, 28–30 December 2015, 19–20 January and 26–27 January 2016.[5]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Marítimo 3 2 1 0 7 3 +4 7 Advance to knockout phase
2 Feirense 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
3 Famalicão 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
4 Porto 3 0 0 3 1 6 −5 0
Source: LPFP
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Benfica 3 3 0 0 8 1 +7 9 Advance to knockout phase
2 Nacional 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
3 Moreirense 3 1 1 1 5 8 −3 4
4 Oriental 3 0 0 3 2 6 −4 0
Source: LPFP
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Portimonense 3 3 0 0 9 3 +6 9 Advance to knockout phase
2 Sporting CP 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6
3 Paços de Ferreira 3 0 1 2 4 7 −3 1
4 Arouca 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
Source: LPFP
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Braga 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7 Advance to knockout phase
2 Rio Ave 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
3 Belenenses 3 1 1 1 6 3 +3 4
4 Leixões 3 0 0 3 1 10 −9 0
Source: LPFP
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Knockout phase

In the knockout phase, the four teams advancing from the third round contest one-legged semi-final matches for a place in the competition final. The winners of Groups A and B host the winners of Groups C and D, respectively.[3] The semi-finals were played on 10 February and 2 May, and the final is scheduled to be played on 20 May at Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, in Coimbra.[5]

Semi-finals Final
10 February – Estádio dos Barreiros
 Marítimo 3  
 Portimonense 1  
 
20 May – Estádio Cidade de Coimbra
     Marítimo
   Benfica
2 May – Estádio da Luz
 Benfica 2
 Braga 1  

Semi-finals

10 February 2016
17:45 WET (UTC±00:00)
Marítimo 3–1 Portimonense
Costa  17'
Bessa  31'
Baba  90+4' 		Report Pires  4'
Estádio dos Barreiros, Funchal, Madeira
Attendance: 5,237
Referee: João Capela

2 May 2016
19:45 WEST (UTC+01:00)
Benfica 2–1 Braga
Jonas  58'
Jiménez  71' 		Report Rafa  19'
Estádio da Luz, Lisbon
Attendance: 24,933
Referee: Tiago Martins

Final

Notes

  1. ↑ The match between Chaves and Varzim was played behind closed doors due to punishment by FPF.

References

  1. ↑ "CTT são "naming" sponsor da Taça da Liga" [CTT are the naming sponsor of the Taça da Liga] (in Portuguese). Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP). 15 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "CTT apostam no futebol como eixo estratégico de comunicação" [CTT bet in football as a strategic axis of communication] (in Portuguese). CTT. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Regulamento das Competições organizadas pela Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional" [Regulations of the Competitions organized by the Portuguese Professional Football League] (PDF) (in Portuguese). LPFP. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Calendário Taça da Liga – Época 2015-2016" (in Portuguese). LPFP. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Conheça os resultados do sorteio da Taça CTT" (in Portuguese). LPFP. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.

External links

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