Porto eye Istanbul, 15 years after Braga triumph in Dublin | OneFootball

Fifteen years ago, in the second edition of the competition that replaced the UEFA Cup, two teams from the north of the country contested the Europa League final: FC Porto, managed by André Villas-Boas, defeated Sporting de Braga, led by Domingos Paciência, 1-0.

A goal by Colombian forward Radamel Falcao in the 44th minute, just before halftime, secured the title for the blue and whites on May 18, 2011, at the Dublin Arena, in front of 45,391 spectators, mostly Portuguese.

After that season, FC Porto and Sporting de Braga met again in the round of 16 in 2021/22: Porto was eliminated by Lyon (0-1 at home and 1-1 away) and Braga reached the quarter-finals, where they fell to Rangers (1-0 in Braga and 1-3 away, after extra time).

Meanwhile, both teams returned to the round of 16 in different seasons – FC Porto in 2013/14 and Sporting de Braga in 2015/16 – seasons in which they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Sevilla (1-0 in Porto and 1-4 in Spain) and by Shakhtar (1-2 in Braga and 1-4 in Lviv), respectively.

Now, the two clubs meet again in the round of 16, after finishing among the top eight in the league phase: the Dragons ranked fifth and the Arsenalistas sixth, both with 17 points – five wins, two draws, and one loss.

Since they finished in consecutive positions, they were placed on opposite sides of the draw, meaning they can only face each other in a potential final.

FC Porto will start the knockout stage against Germany's Stuttgart, with the advantage of playing the second leg at home.

If they advance, the blue and whites will have only two possible opponents in the quarter-finals: Nottingham Forest, managed by Vítor Pereira, or Midtjylland.

In the event of reaching the semi-finals, FC Porto could face one of four teams: two Italian – Bologna and Roma – one French, Lille, and one English, Aston Villa, considered by many as the favorite to win the trophy.

The final of the 2025/26 Europa League edition is scheduled for May 20, at the Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey – that is, 15 years and 11 days after the all-Portuguese final held in Dublin.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.