There was one doubt about Andre Villas-Boas when he arrived at Chelsea in the summer. Astonishing as Porto was last season -- it won a treble of Europa League, Portuguese Cup and Portuguese League (in which it dropped only four points) -- it never really faced a test. Sporting is at a low ebb and Benfica looks much stronger this season, while in Europe it faced no side from England, Germany, Italy or France. Of teams from the top five leagues in Europe, Porto met only Sevilla and Villarreal. Although they finished fifth and fourth in La Liga, both were out of sorts when they met Porto. Sevilla had failed to win any of its previous five games, and even then lost only on away goals; while Villarreal looked exhausted and had begun a slump from which it is yet to recover. That's not Villas-Boas' fault, but it is a gap in his credentials.
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