In a desperate attempt to save his job, Benfica's Rui Vitoria turned to his youth team. Managers rarely last for long at the Estadio da Luz, with Vitoria's popular predecessor, Jorge Jesus, the first to take charge of more than 100 games since Sven Goran-Eriksson in the early nineties. And after two chastising defeats to bitter rivals Sporting in his first 132 days at the club, it seemed unlikely that Vitoria would rack up even half that number.

Five months later, and Benfica top the Primeira Liga. They host Bayern Munich with very real hopes of a place in the Champions League semi-finals after a narrow first-leg defeat. They have lost only once in the league since the defeat to Sporting that first inspired Vitoria to pluck Renato Sanches from obscurity.

The 18-year-old has played a vital role in the club’s rise, and is now thought to top Manchester United’s summer shopping list.