# 2021–22 Primeira Liga

The 2021–22 Liga Portugal (also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons) was the 88th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs, and the first season under the current Liga Portugal title. This was the fifth Primeira Liga season to use video assistant referee (VAR). The start and end dates for the season were released on 21 May 2021, and the fixtures were released on 8 July 2021.
Sporting CP were the defending champions, having won their nineteenth Primeira Liga and their first title since the 2001–02 season at the previous season. Estoril, Vizela and Arouca joined as the promoted clubs from the 2020–21 Liga Portugal 2. They replaced Farense, Nacional and Rio Ave, which were relegated to Liga Portugal 2 the previous season.
This season saw the return of full capacity crowds, after the final third of the 2019–20 and the entirety of the 2020–21 seasons were held with limited or no attendance due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal.
Porto secured their 30th league title with one match remaining, following a 1–0 away victory over rivals Benfica on 7 May 2022.

## Teams

Eighteen teams compete in the league – the top fifteen teams from the previous season and three teams promoted from the LigaPro: Estoril, Vizela and Arouca.

### Changes

Estoril (promoted after a three-year absence) and Vizela (promoted after a 36-year absence) were promoted from the 2020–21 Liga Portugal 2 (finishing 1st and 2nd places), replacing Farense and Nacional (both relegated after only one year in the top flight).
Arouca (promoted after a four-year absence) was promoted after finishing in 3rd place in 2020–21 Liga Portugal 2 and winning the Promotion play-offs against Rio Ave (relegated after thirteen years in the top flight).

### Personnel and sponsors

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Main Sponsor |
| Arouca | Armando Evangelista | Thales Oleques | Skita | Construções Carlos Pinho |
| B-SAD | Franclim Carvalho | Afonso Taira | Kelme | Betway |
| Benfica | Nélson Veríssimo | André Almeida | Adidas | Emirates |
| Boavista | Petit | Rafael Bracali | Kelme | Placard |
| Braga | Carlos Carvalhal | Ricardo Horta | Hummel | Betano |
| Estoril | Bruno Pinheiro | Joãozinho | Kappa | Solverde |
| Famalicão | Rui Pedro Silva | Gustavo Assunção | Macron | Placard |
| Gil Vicente | Ricardo Soares | Rúben Fernandes | Lacatoni | Barcelos Tourism |
| Marítimo | Vasco Seabra | Edgar Costa | Nike | Betano |
| Moreirense | Ricardo Sá Pinto | Lazar Rosić | CDT | Placard |
| Paços de Ferreira | César Peixoto | Marco Baixinho | Joma | Solverde |
| Portimonense | Paulo Sérgio | Pedro Sá | Mizuno | McDonald's |
| Porto | Sérgio Conceição | Pepe | New Balance | MEO |
| Santa Clara | Mário Silva | Anderson Carvalho | Kelme | Solverde |
| Sporting CP | Ruben Amorim | Sebastián Coates | Nike | Betano |
| Tondela | Nuno Campos | João Pedro | CDT | Cabriz |
| Vitória de Guimarães | Pepa | André André | Macron | Placard |
| Vizela | Álvaro Pacheco | Marcos Paulo | Lacatoni | Vizela Tourism |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner | Date of vacancy | Pos in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Pacos de Ferreira | Pepa | Signed by Vitória de Guimarães | 1 July 2021 | Pre-season | Jorge Simão | 1 July 2021 |
| Vitória de Guimarães | Moreno (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 1 July 2021 | Pre-season | Pepa | 1 July 2021 |
| Boavista | Jesualdo Ferreira | Mutual consent | 1 July 2021 | Pre-season | João Pedro Sousa | 1 July 2021 |
| Santa Clara | Daniel Ramos | Mutual consent | 7 October 2021 | 15th | Nuno Campos | 12 October 2021 |
| B-SAD | Petit | Mutual consent | 19 October 2021 | 17th | Filipe Cândido | 19 October 2021 |
| Marítimo | Julio Velázquez | Sacked | 11 November 2021 | 17th | Vasco Seabra | 14 November 2021 |
| Boavista | João Pedro Sousa | Mutual consent | 30 November 2021 | 11th | Petit | 30 November 2021 |
| Moreirense | João Henriques | Mutual consent | 30 November 2021 | 16th | Lito Vidigal | 4 December 2021 |
| Pacos de Ferreira | Jorge Simão | Sacked | 11 December 2021 | 13th | César Peixoto | 16 December 2021 |
| Santa Clara | Nuno Campos | Sacked | 13 December 2021 | 14th | Tiago Sousa (caretaker) | 13 December 2021 |
| Famalicão | Ivo Vieira | Sacked | 19 December 2021 | 16th | Rui Pedro Silva | 19 December 2021 |
| Benfica | Jorge Jesus | Mutual consent | 27 December 2021 | 3rd | Nélson Veríssimo (caretaker) | 27 December 2021 |
| Moreirense | Lito Vidigal | Sacked | 5 January 2022 | 16th | Ricardo Sá Pinto | 7 January 2022 |
| Santa Clara | Tiago Sousa | End of caretaker spell | 10 January 2022 | 14th | Mário Silva | 10 January 2022 |
| B-SAD | Filipe Cândido | Resigned | 11 January 2022 | 18th | Franclim Carvalho | 11 January 2022 |
| Tondela | Pako Ayestarán | Sacked | 16 March 2022 | 16th | Nuno Campos | 16 March 2022 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Porto (C) | 34 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 86 | 22 | +64 | 91 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 34 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 73 | 23 | +50 | 85 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Benfica | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 78 | 30 | +48 | 74 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Braga | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 52 | 31 | +21 | 65 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 5 | Gil Vicente | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round |
| 6 | Vitória de Guimarães | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 41 | +9 | 48 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round |
| 7 | Santa Clara | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 38 | 54 | −16 | 40 | |
| 8 | Famalicão | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 45 | 51 | −6 | 39 | |
| 9 | Estoril | 34 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 36 | 43 | −7 | 39 | |
| 10 | Marítimo | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 38 | |
| 11 | Paços de Ferreira | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 38 | |
| 12 | Boavista | 34 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 39 | 52 | −13 | 38 | |
| 13 | Portimonense | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 38 | |
| 14 | Vizela | 34 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 33 | |
| 15 | Arouca | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 30 | 54 | −24 | 31 | |
| 16 | Moreirense (R) | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 29 | Qualification for the Relegation play-offs |
| 17 | Tondela (R) | 34 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 41 | 67 | −26 | 28 | Relegation to Liga Portugal 2 |
| 18 | B-SAD (R) | 34 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 23 | 55 | −32 | 26 | Relegation to Liga Portugal 2 |
* 1 2 3 Since the winners of the 2021–22 Taça de Portugal, Porto, qualified for the Champions League based on league position, the spot awarded to the fourth-placed team (Europa Conference League third qualifying round) was passed to the fifth-placed team, and the spot awarded to the fifth-placed team (Europa Conference League second qualifying round) was passed to the sixth-placed team.
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Famalicão 4, Estoril 1.
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head points: Marítimo 10, Paços de Ferreira 8, Boavista 7, Portimonense 6.

## Relegation play-offs

The relegation play-offs took place on 21 and 29 May 2022 between Moreirense who finished 16th in the Primeira Liga and Chaves who finished 3rd in Liga Portugal 2.
All times are WEST (UTC+1).
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Chaves | 2–1 | Moreirense | 2–0 | 0–1 |
Chaves won 2–1 on aggregate and were promoted to 2022–23 Primeira Liga; Moreirense were relegated to 2022–23 Liga Portugal 2.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARO | BEL | BEN | BOA | BRA | EST | FAM | GIL | MAR | MOR | PAC | PTM | POR | STA | SPO | TON | VSC | VIZ |
| Arouca | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 |
| Belenenses SAD | 2–1 | — | 0–7 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Benfica | 2–0 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 7–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Boavista | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Braga | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 |
| Estoril | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Famalicão | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Gil Vicente | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| Marítimo | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Moreirense | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 |
| Paços de Ferreira | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Portimonense | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Porto | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 7–0 | — | 3–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 |
| Santa Clara | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Sporting CP | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Tondela | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Vitória de Guimarães | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 5–2 | — | 4–0 |
| Vizela | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — |
* ↑ The match between Belenenses SAD and Benfica was abandoned after 48 minutes of play with the visiting team leading by 0–7 after the host team was unable to field more than six players. Belenenses SAD originally fielded nine players after most of their team tested positive for COVID-19 before the match. In the return for the second half, two Belenenses SAD players abandoned the match with one more player abandoning in the 48th minute, leaving only six players on the pitch which forced the abandonment of the match.

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Darwin Núñez | Benfica | 26 |
| 2 | Mehdi Taremi | Porto | 20 |
| 3 | Ricardo Horta | Braga | 19 |
| 4 | Fran Navarro | Gil Vicente | 16 |
| 5 | Pablo Sarabia | Sporting | 15 |
| 5 | Óscar Estupiñán | Vitória de Guimarães | 15 |
| 7 | Luis Díaz | Porto | 14 |
| 7 | Evanilson | Porto | 14 |
| 7 | Simon Banza | Famalicão | 14 |
| 10 | Samuel Lino | Gil Vicente | 12 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Mehdi Taremi | Porto | Tondela | 3–1 (A) | 23 October 2021 |
| João Pedro | Tondela | Marítimo | 4–2 (H) | 7 November 2021 |
| Darwin Núñez | Benfica | B SAD | 7–0 (A) | 27 November 2021 |
| Darwin Núñez | Benfica | Famalicão | 4–1 (A) | 13 December 2021 |
| Paulinho | Sporting | Portimonense | 3–2 (H) | 29 December 2021 |
| Vitinha | Braga | Arouca | 6–0 (A) | 30 December 2021 |
| Evanilson | Porto | B SAD | 4–1 (A) | 16 January 2022 |
| Darwin Núñez | Benfica | B SAD | 3–1 (H) | 9 April 2022 |
| Joel Tagueu | Marítimo | Boavista | 4–0 (H) | 16 April 2022 |
| Mehdi Taremi | Porto | Portimonense | 7–0 (H) | 16 April 2022 |

##### Notes

(H) – Home team (A) – Away team

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Antonio Adán | Sporting CP | 17 |
| 2 | Diogo Costa | Porto | 15 |
| 2 | Matheus | Braga | 15 |
| 4 | André Ferreira | Paços de Ferreira | 10 |
| 4 | Odysseas Vlachodimos | Benfica | 10 |
| 4 | Dani Figueira | Estoril | 10 |
| 4 | Samuel Portugal | Portimonense | 10 |
| 8 | Paulo Victor | Marítimo | 9 |
| 8 | Marco Pereira | Santa Clara | 9 |
| 10 | Luiz Júnior | Famalicão | 8 |
| 10 | Luiz Felipe | B SAD | 8 |

### Discipline
#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 13
** Lucas Possignolo (Portimonense)
* Most red cards: 3
** Alfa Semedo (Vitória de Guimarães)

#### Club

* Most yellow cards: 118
** Vitória de Guimarães
* Most red cards: 11
** Belenenses SAD

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | Goalkeeper of the Month | Defender of the Month | Defender of the Month | Midfielder of the Month | Midfielder of the Month | Forward of the Month | Forward of the Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Goal of the Month | Goal of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| August | Lucas Veríssimo | Benfica | Antonio Adán | Sporting CP | Lucas Veríssimo | Benfica | Pedro Gonçalves | Sporting CP | Toni Martínez | Porto | Bruno Pinheiro | Estoril | Álex Grimaldo | Benfica |
| September | Darwin Núñez | Benfica | Diogo Costa | Porto | Pedro Porro | Sporting CP | João Mário | Benfica | Darwin Núñez | Benfica | Jorge Jesus | Benfica | Gustavo Sauer | Boavista |
| October/November | Luis Díaz | Porto | Antonio Adán | Sporting CP | Sebastián Coates | Sporting CP | Matheus Nunes | Sporting CP | Luis Díaz | Porto | Ruben Amorim | Sporting CP | Luis Díaz | Porto |
| December | Vitinha | Porto | Diogo Costa | Porto | Gonçalo Inácio | Sporting CP | Vitinha | Porto | Luis Díaz | Porto | Sérgio Conceição | Porto | Arsénio | Arouca |
| January | Vitinha | Porto | Diogo Costa | Porto | Chancel Mbemba | Porto | Vitinha | Porto | Evanilson | Porto | Ricardo Soares | Gil Vicente | Evanilson | Porto |
| February | Pedrinho | Gil Vicente | Diogo Costa | Porto | Matheus Reis | Sporting | Pedrinho | Gil Vicente | Ricardo Horta | Braga | Ricardo Soares | Gil Vicente | Ricardo Horta | Braga |
| March | Vitinha | Porto | Diogo Costa | Porto | Matheus Reis | Sporting | Vitinha | Porto | Islam Slimani | Sporting | Sérgio Conceição | Porto | Rafa Silva | Benfica |
| April | Ricardo Horta | Braga | Matheus | Braga | David Carmo | Braga | Fábio Vieira | Porto | Ricardo Horta | Braga | Carlos Carvalhal | Braga | André Silva | Arouca |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Player of the Season | Darwin Núñez | Benfica |
| Manager of the Season | Sérgio Conceição | Porto |
| Goal of the Season | André Silva | Arouca |
| Young Player of the Season | Vitinha | Porto |
| Top scorer | Darwin Núñez | Benfica |
| Neno Club Fair-Play Prize | Benfica | Benfica |
* Costa
* Pepe
* Porro
* Mbemba
* Reis
* Otávio
* Vitinha
* Nunes
* Horta
* Taremi
* Núñez
* Team of the Year
Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Diogo Costa (Porto) | Diogo Costa (Porto) | Diogo Costa (Porto) | Diogo Costa (Porto) | Diogo Costa (Porto) | Diogo Costa (Porto) | Diogo Costa (Porto) |
| Defence | Pedro Porro (Sporting CP) | Pepe (Porto) | Pepe (Porto) | Chancel Mbemba (Porto) | Matheus Reis (Sporting CP) | Matheus Reis (Sporting CP) | Matheus Reis (Sporting CP) |
| Midfield | Ricardo Horta (Braga) | Ricardo Horta (Braga) | Matheus Nunes (Sporting CP) | Otávio (Porto) | Otávio (Porto) | Vitinha (Porto) | Darwin Núñez (Benfica) |
| Attack | Mehdi Taremi (Porto) | Mehdi Taremi (Porto) | Mehdi Taremi (Porto) | Mehdi Taremi (Porto) | Mehdi Taremi (Porto) | Mehdi Taremi (Porto) | Mehdi Taremi (Porto) |

## Number of teams by district

| Rank | District Football Associations | Number | Teams |
| 1 | Braga | 6 | Braga, Famalicão, Gil Vicente, Moreirense, Vitória de Guimarães and Vizela |
| 2 | Lisbon | 4 | Belenenses SAD, Benfica, Estoril and Sporting CP |
| 3 | Porto | 3 | Boavista, Paços de Ferreira and Porto |
| 4 | Aveiro | 1 | Arouca |
| 4 | Faro | 1 | Portimonense |
| 4 | Funchal | 1 | Marítimo |
| 4 | Ponta Delgada | 1 | Santa Clara |
| 4 | Viseu | 1 | Tondela |