2010 Taça de Portugal final

As a Liga de Honra team, Chaves entered the 2009–10 Taça de Portugal in the second round, where they were drawn at home against Terceira Divisão side Amares. Chaves would defeat Amares comfortably, 2–0 at the Estádio Municipal de Chaves to progress to the third round.[13] For the third round, Chaves were yet again drawn against a Third Division side, this time they faced Leça away from home. Just like the previous round they defeated Leça with ease with a 3–0 win.[14] In the next round, Chaves were drawn at home against União da Serra from the Segunda Divisão. They would defeat the side from Leiria 2–0, thanks to two goals from Senegalese striker Mbaye Diop.[15]

In the fifth round, Chaves defeated Liga de Honra side Beira-Mar, 1–0 to progress to the quarter finals.[16] At the quarter final stage, they were drawn away against Primeira Liga side Paços de Ferreira. Chaves went into the game as underdogs, they started the game strongly with two early goals in the first ten minutes of the game thanks to goals from Carlos Pinto and Mbaye Diop. In the second half, Paços de Ferreira clawed a goal back in the 64th minute from Brazilian striker William. Chaves would hang on to progress to semi finals.[17] Naval were Chaves opponents in the semi-final. The Taça de Portugal semi-final was played over two legs with one home game and one away game. The first leg was played at Chaves' Estádio Municipal de Chaves, Chaves won the first game 1–0, thanks to a 94th minute late winner from center half Ricardo Rocha.[18] The second leg at the Estádio Municipal José Bento Pessoa saw Naval dominate the opening proceedings and taking an early lead in the 15th minute with a goal from Fábio Júnior. Fábio Júnior's goal would tie the game on aggregate. The game would remain tied on aggregate and would need extra time to settle the winner. In extra time, Edu would score two goals to send Chaves to their very first cup final.[19]

As a Primeira Liga team, Porto entered the Taça de Portugal in the third round. In the third round they were drawn against Sertanense at home. They defeated the third division side, 4–0 with two goals from Ernesto Farías and Hulk.[20] In the fourth round, Porto faced Liga de Honra side Oliveirense away from home. Goals from Raul Meireles and Rolando secured the win, which allowed Porto to progress into the next phase of the competition.[21] The next round saw Porto face Belenenses at the Estádio do Restelo. The game began with Belenenses scoring early through Lima. A minute later, however, Radamel Falcao equalized for Porto. The score remained level at 1–1 until the 80th minute, were Lima scored his second goal of the night. With Porto pressing in the closing stages to take the game to extra time, Cristian Rodríguez scored a decisive goal which tied the game 2–2. Following 30 minutes of extra time with no goals, the game went to penalties, where Porto won 9–10.[22]

In the quarter-finals, Porto were drawn at home against rivals Sporting CP. The match, held at the Estádio do Dragão, saw Porto take the lead with a goal from Rolando, though Sporting winger Marat Izmailov would equalize four minutes later. Before half-time, Falcao would go on to score two goals and extend Porto's lead to 3–1. After the interval, Porto would enter strongly and extend their lead with a goal from winger Silvestre Varela; nine minutes later, Mariano González would score for Porto before near the end Brazilian striker Liédson scored a consolation goal for Sporting to make the final score 5–2.[23] In the semi-finals, Porto was pitted against fellow Primeira Liga side Rio Ave. The first game saw Porto defeat Rio Ave at the Estádio do Rio Ave FC, 3–1.[24] The return and final leg saw Porto win 4–0 at Estádio do Dragão, which ensured their place in the final.[25]

Porto dominated possession from the beginning of the match. In the eighth minute, Chaves winger Edu took advantage of a goalkeeping error from Helton, though Edu would go on to waste the golden opportunity when his shot hit the post. Five minutes later, Fredy Guarín received the ball unmarked in the box and fired past goalkeeper Rui Rêgo to score the first goal of the match. Shortly after Porto's first goal, they scored again after Hulk beat the offside trap and set up Radamel Falcao for a tap-in. Up until half time, Porto's Hulk missed several opportunities to extend the lead. In the second half, Chaves began to grow more into the game and attempted to create more chances and test the Porto defense. Porto sat back and imposed a slower rhythm into the game. Ten minutes from the end, Paulo Clemente was brought on for Chaves in which five minutes from time he scored following a defensive mistake by Porto center backs Bruno Alves and Rolando. The game ended with each team having a man sent off. Porto would hold on to capture their 15th Taça de Portugal title.