2020–21 Taça da Liga

The 2020–21 Taça da Liga was the fourteenth edition of the Taça da Liga (also known as Allianz Cup for sponsorship reasons), a football league cup competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional and contested exclusively by clubs competing in the two professional divisions of Portuguese football – the top-tier Primeira Liga and the second-tier Liga Portugal 2. Due to calendar limitations derived from the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, this season will follow a transitory format where only eight teams enter the competition.[1]

2020–21 Taça da Liga
Allianz Cup
CountryPortugal
Dates15 December 2020 – 23 January 2021
Teams8
ChampionsSporting CP (3rd title)
Runners-upBraga
Matches played7
Goals scored18 (2.57 per match)
2021–22 →

The competition started with a quarter-final round played from 15 to 17 December 2020, and concluded with a final-four tournament, played at a neutral ground from 18 to 23 January 2021 with the final between Braga and Sporting CP.[2] The Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria was chosen as the competition's final-four venue until 2023.[3]

Braga were the holders and two-time winners, after beating Porto 1–0 in the 2020 final. Sporting CP won the final 1–0 over Braga for their third title.

Format

The top six teams from the Primeira Liga and the top two non-reserve teams from the Liga Portugal 2 at the end of November (matchday 8 for Primeira Liga and matchday 10 for Liga Portugal 2) will be paired according to their league positions to play single-leg quarter-final matches:[4]

  • 1st place (Primeira Liga) vs. 2nd place (Liga Portugal 2)
  • 2nd place (Primeira Liga) vs. 1st place (Liga Portugal 2)
  • 3rd place (Primeira Liga) vs. 6th place (Primeira Liga)
  • 4th place (Primeira Liga) vs. 5th place (Primeira Liga)

The winners qualify to the final-four tournament, which was played at a neutral venue and comprised two single-leg semi-finals and a final. The final four was scheduled to be played at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, in Leiria, until 2023.[5]

Qualified teams
Team Tier Rank (end of November 2020)
Sporting CP Primeira Liga 1st place
Braga Primeira Liga 2nd place
Benfica Primeira Liga 3rd place
Porto Primeira Liga 4th place
Paços de Ferreira Primeira Liga 5th place
Vitória de Guimarães Primeira Liga 6th place
Estoril Liga Portugal 2 1st place
Mafra Liga Portugal 2 2nd place

Quarter-finals

In this round, teams were paired according to their league position at the end of November, with the best placed teams playing at home.[6]

15 December 2020 Sporting CP 2–0MafraLisbon
20:15 WET (UTC±00:00)
Report Stadium: Estádio de Alvalade
Attendance: 0
Referee: Tiago Martins
16 December 2020 Porto 2–1Paços de FerreiraPorto
18:45 WET (UTC±00:00)
Report
Stadium: Estádio do Dragão
Attendance: 0
Referee: António Nobre
16 December 2020 Benfica 1–1
(4–1 p)		Vitória de GuimarãesLisbon
21:00 WET (UTC±00:00)
Report
Stadium: Estádio da Luz
Attendance: 0
Referee: Fábio Veríssimo
Penalties
17 December 2020 Braga 3–1EstorilBraga
20:15 WET (UTC±00:00)
Report
Stadium: Estádio Municipal de Braga
Attendance: 0
Referee: Luís Godinho

Final-four

The final-four was played from 16 to 23 January 2021 in Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, and comprised the semi-finals and final of the competition. The draw for this stage, where the semi-finals' pairings were made and the administrative home team was decided for both semi-finals and final, was made through videoconference on 21 December 2020, by Helton.[7]

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
19 January – Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa
 
 
Sporting CP2
 
23 January – Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa
 
Porto1
 
Sporting CP1
 
20 January – Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa
 
Braga0
 
Braga2
 
 
Benfica1
 

Semi-finals
Sporting CP2–1Porto
 Report
Attendance: 0
Braga2–1Benfica
 Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Fábio Veríssimo

Final
Sporting CP1–0Braga
 Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Tiago Martins

References
  1. "De 34 para oito clubes: Taça da Liga vai ser reformulada". SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. "Taça da Liga com apenas 8 clubes aprovada: saiba como vai funcionar". www.record.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  3. Lusa. "Leiria recebe "final four" da Taça da Liga nas próximas três temporadas". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  4. "Taça da Liga com apenas oito participantes em 2020/21". Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). 28 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  5. "Leiria recebe final four da Taça da Liga nos próximos três anos" [Leiria will host the League Cup in the next three years]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 28 August 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  6. "Taça da Liga: quem já garantiu presença nos "quartos" e o que falta definir". O Jogo (in Portuguese). 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. "Sorteio da Final Four da Allianz CUP realiza-se hoje". Liga Portugal. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
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