According to reports, Benfica president Luís Costa criticized referee Miguel Nogueira's "inconsistent officiating" following his team's 1-3 away defeat to Porto, arguing that Clément Lenglet's 35th-minute red card significantly impacted the match.

Speaking in the mixed zone at Estádio do Dragão, Luís Costa told journalists: "Benfica had an excellent start and controlled the match according to Marco Silva's tactical demands. We played superbly for the first 30 minutes but conceded from our only mistake. Despite that, we remained focused on the game. Of course, playing with 10 men is completely different from 11 against 11. If the numbers had been equal, I believe the result and the course of the match would have been different."

Regarding Clément Lenglet's red card, Luís Costa said that while André Silva was only "lightly touched on the back of the neck," the French center-back "could not afford to take such a risk." He continued: "I won't dispute Clément Lenglet's red card. Looking at the incident, André Silva complained he was hit in the face, but he was actually only lightly caught on the back of the neck, not even the face. I won't argue about that action, especially not when already on a yellow card—you cannot afford that kind of risk here. However, regarding the inconsistency in decisions, particularly regarding disciplinary measures, I think there's an enormous double standard. Benfica has been punished very harshly in this regard. Porto committed many fouls and not only went without cautions for regular fouls, but this strengthens one team while weakening the other."

Luís Costa went on: "Porto players committed a series of fouls that should have resulted in penalties even before Clément Lenglet's dismissal. Pepe showed his bloodied face to the referee and received a caution, yet he was struck when he barely had possession of the ball and it wasn't even called a foul. In this respect, we don't exclude our own mistakes—we made mistakes later—but the inconsistency in decisions, particularly in disciplinary standards, is truly excessive."

Despite trailing Porto by five points, Luís Costa remains confident in his team. "I am convinced that Marco Silva's efforts and those of the players will bear fruit. Clearly, we don't want to be five points behind at seven rounds, but just as we weren't national champions when we arrived at Estádio do Dragão—and wouldn't have been even if we'd won—we won't leave here thinking we've lost the championship or that the league is over because it's far from finished. The quality we showed when we had the chance demonstrates our strength and that we can win on any pitch. Being five points behind won't distort the standings. I remember well how we lost two points against Académico de Viseu and the same applies to the points we lost here. This won't prevent or discourage this team from fighting for all our objectives. We didn't lose the championship here today. Quite the opposite. There's still a long way to go, and what we're doing deserves our fans' trust."

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