^ I meant Spurs for last season. Undoubtedly they are better now, but I haven't seen them play yet so I don't know how much.

@Lod,

I guess it's all about the opinion in the end, then. I believe Benfica would have a good chance of finishing above Spurs and Arsenal, you don't. Or, of course, we could turn it the other way around, and say Spurs and Arsenal were thrown into the Primeira Liga. If so, I think they'd most likely end up at 3rd and 4th.

^ Nah, I'd say that Spurs would probably be 2nd, and Arsenal 4th.

Spurs behind Porto or Benfica? Curious...

Behind Porto. Right now, Spurs look like they're better than Benfica. I see it as,

1. Porto
2. Spurs
3. Benfica
4. Arsenal

You rate Porto above Spurs? No way man. I don't think Porto can handle the amount of quality Spurs posses.

@tdot

We both have our own opinions, but Spurs lost to Basel (which is sad), and I think that Porto can beat Basel. Therefore, I think that Porto (along with their CL displays) have the ability to beat Spurs over 2 legs.

i think Benfica could finish 3rd last year, chelsea arsenal and spurs wasted a lot of points...
Benfica and porto are consistent enough, and Benfica would probably beat spurs if they faced them in Europa league.

^ Exactly what I think.

I think Spurs would beat Benfica, actually. Even last year.

Dont forget it was our reserve keeper, mostly reserve defense, no wingers and missing our best DM, against Basel. And it was still penalties, besides.

agree with you lodatz in one thing, benfica have more quality in the bench.

Benfica did good last year against us but can they really compare to us now? After the upgrades we made?

@Golden: I don't mean this as trying to pick a fight with you but what players joined Benfica this summer compared to Chelsea's, Tottenham's or even Aston Villa's signings?

@Ven

But that's the point. Benfica and Porto take on these elusive signings and turn these players into world-class players. I mean, who expected 22 year-old Brazilian picked from the Japanese league to be one of the most sought-after wingers in the world? Same goes for Falcao, James, and Jackson, and more recently Juan Quintero. I think that Porto and Benfica's signings can compete with Spurs and Chelsea's signings, but people have to give them some time at the clubs first for them to showcase their real talent.

Exactly my point. I don't mean to downgrade the Portuguese League but clearly there is much less competition there. The only big two as Porto and Benfica, plus Sporting are having financial issues. So other than those three, the Portuguese League isn't as competitive as the Bundesliga, La Liga, or EPL. So if Benfica for example join the EPL and make these same signings, the unproven talent outside South America, they're going to have a much tougher time most of the time. The players will adapt eventually, but it will take time and by the time they adapt they'll have to bring on another talent. For example, Lazar Markovic. It was said Chelsea are in pole position to sign him all season and once we sign him we'll loan him out for 2 or more years and then see what we can do with him. With Benfica he'll have to wait a bit and then he'll shoot right to the starting line-up. A 20 year old in the starting line-up. That's not the best idea in the EPL unless the player has adapted to it.

@ Dyn

That's a horrible logic. Man United also lost to Basel too, and I'm pretty sure they're better. There have been MANY cases where the best team doesn't always win and that's football. In respect to Vendetta's argument, with the upgrades Spurs have also made they would smash Porto.

@Dyn and tiki: Great points. I perfectly agree with your mini-table, Dyn.

@Lod: Perhaps, yes. Unfortunately we never got that opportunity.

@V: Yes, I would undoubtly compare them to Chelsea's signings. Look at Benfica's last departures: David Luiz, Ramires, Coentrão, Di Maria, Witsel, Javi Garcia. ALL OF THEM (except for the latter) got a starting place in top, top clubs, yours included. Were they famous before they came to Benfica? We both know the answer. Dynastian says it perfectly well; Porto and Benfica snaps up talent that barely anyone has heard of, give them a chance to prove themselves, and then transfer them further into the very top sides in Europe by making enormous profit, for the reason that they've shown they're top class players. We're not talking about amateurish scouting-systems here.

On your second comment, obviously the Primeira Liga is a smaller league than the EPL, but I don't think it's a relevant point whether they'd cope with developing in the EPL or not. For many reasons they would develop better, for others, not as good. I could give you a few examples on that if you want to.

@tdot: Tbh, you're the horrible one here. It's better to bring logic, even if it's debatable, than nothing. And you've got nothing. Why would Spurs 'smash' Porto? Because you've got more knowledge about their team than Porto's? At least come with an explanation.

I've got huge respect for Spurs, their manager, players and fans, but I don't think it's thoughtful to say Spurs would run over Porto. "Real Madrid would crush Barca." No, not in a normal occasion. It could happen, yes, but generally speaking as you did, the same goes for Porto and Spurs.

@Golden & Dyn: Don't forget that Chelsea played way more games last season than Benfica did. The players were tired, we've all seen it in the final. I think if Benfica played the same amount of games, Chelsea would have completely dominated the final.

I don't really mind who performed better in that final. I admit Benfica did much better than us at some points of the game but they couldn't finish us off. So we took advantage and won the EL, and that's all that matters in the end.

Back to Benfica in the EPL:

@Golden: You say Benfica can compete for top four and have a a squad that's good enough.

There we have it. That's the squad, with Cardozo, Rodrigo, Matic, Garay and Lima. Yeah there are some players there that came from a league in South America that I don't know but that's the point; their only experience before joining Benfica is this South American league that can't compare to the EPL. Meanwhile, players Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and the Manchester clubs sign are usually playing in a better league and given better experience.

Now you're opinion is you think this is as or good or even better than the Tottenham team.

Well there is the Tottenham team. Do you really believe Benfica are better than this squad? Benfica have Artur as keeper, Tottenham have Lloris. They have Garay as their defender. Tottenham have Vertonghen. Almost every player in Tottenham that would shoot right in the starting line-up is a better option than the players in Benfica's starting line-up. Just look at their defensive midfielders. Benfica without a doubt have a great DM in Matic. As a Chelsea fan I should know this the most. But while they have Matic Tottenham have Sandro, Capoe, Paulinho and even Dembele could play as DM. Soldado is in his prime while Cardozo is on the decline. Bale beats everyone in the Benfica team too. I find it extremely hard to believe Benfica can beat this team for top four.

Let's look at Chelsea too. Not the Chelsea they faced last season in the EL. The new and improved Chelsea.

Once again, Artur doesn't even compare to Cech. Luiz (remember, this is the current Chelsea squad. I know we got him off Benfica but he is a Blue now) would be a starter for them, Ivanovic would be too. Mata, Hazard, De Bruyne, Oscar, Ramires and Schurrle would all be starters for Benfica. Lukaku would give Rodrigo and Cardozo a challenge and even Van Ginkel, at 20 years old would slot in Benfica's first team. Yeah, the young Dutch player of the year would be a starter for them while here he probably needs a season before he's ready to start for us. Once again, I find it hard to believe Benfica could beat this team for a top 4 spot. And of course, we also have the best manager in the world (imo), Mourinho.

Arsenal are the only team Benfica would beat for top four at the moment and that's because Arsenal are doing horrible. I wont even bring up the Manchester clubs as they would also beat Benfica.

Why is Gomes still our #1? That's just awkward by this point...

@V: Yet you've missed a crucial point here. Would I dare betting you don't watch more than three-four games of Benfica a season? Oh, I would. (If you actually did, then quite frankly, you would've known better.) Would I dare betting that I watch Spurs close to every single round of the EPL and in Europe? All my money. I'm a big fan of Tottenham. I'm not trying to give Benfica a better light than them. In fact, I'm a bigger admirer of Spurs than Benfica (at the moment, should I say). I'm just being fair, and in all honesty, I think some of you guys are giving too little credit to the quality that Benfica possess as a team, just because the players 'aren't famous enough'.

Now, you say almost every Spurs player would make it into Benfica's starting lineup. I don't agree. Some of them would, just like the other way around. I watch both clubs as much as I can, and I think this would be a fair comparison of their current starting XIs:

Artur v Lloris = Spurs
Pereira v Walker = Benfica
Luisão/Vitória v Vertonghen = Spurs
Garay v Dawson/Kaboul = Benfica
Sílvio/Cortez v BAE/Rose = Benfica
Matic v Paulinho = Benfica
Pérez v Sandro = Spurs
Salvio v Bale = Spurs
Rodrigo v Dembélé = Spurs
Gaitán v Lennon = Benfica
Cardozo/Lima v Soldado/Defoe = Equal

When we discuss the quality between two teams, the result of a game isn't what fully matters in the end. When a team has the better game and doesn't win, it's often due to luck or other essential elements playing a big part of the game's drive. Benfica could've won the game against Chelsea, but it didn't happen. However, that doesn't mean Chelsea are much better because the scoreline finally showed 2-1.

If you really find it that hard to think Benfica could have a chance of finishing in the top four, why don't you look at last season? I'm not even comparing them with Chelsea (who I never said Benfica would finish above), and yet, they managed to play better football than them in such a decisive game as a final.

Now before you bring up tiredness, who exactly did Benfica play three days in front of the final? Porto. And it was as crucial as ever. It was a battle for the league title. What is more, they played Porto even tighter up than Chelsea played their game. Chelsea met Aston Villa FOUR days before the final. Nothing to blame there.

Mark that this is not a fight we're having, Vendetta. I've got great respect for you - it's just a very interesting discussion. :)

And SORRY. This got pretty damn too long. So much to throw out.

@Juan: Read my penultimate paragraph to Vendetta.