Ogier led Neuville by 17.3s entering SS22 but wound up 1m23.9s in arrears of the Belgian at the end of SS23 thanks to a tyre change.
By the rally’s end, Neuville was 16.3s clear of Oliver Solberg, who led Toyota’s efforts. Elfyn Evans was third and 29.1s away in the next-best Toyota.
Ogier ultimately ended the rally in sixth behind Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) and Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota).
“We had some tough luck today,” said Ogier.
“In the beginning of this penultimate stage it was very rutted and there were some rocks in the line; I don’t think we could have done much differently.
“Everything that we could control this weekend, I think we did it pretty well, together with the team.
Secure your spot today.
“I think we all deserved better, but that’s rallying sometimes.
“Of course, when you put in so much effort it’s frustrating, but we have to forget about it and go to Japan and look to get another win there.”
Ogier wasn’t the only Toyota driver to strike trouble at the death. Sami Pajari was third with three stages to go until he too was forced to stop on the penultimate stage. He finished seventh.
Juha Kankkunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team deputy team principal, acknowledged Ogier’s brutal conclusion to the contest.
“It’s never a nice feeling to lose a rally victory so close to the end like this, but we benefitted from a similar situation in Croatia this year and now we were on the other side,” said Kankkunen.
“This is rallying: it’s never over until it’s over. It looks like Seb and Sami both picked up punctures in a similar place on this penultimate stage; it’s frustrating because both of them had been doing such a great job, especially in the wet conditions yesterday.
“Still, Oliver and Elfyn were able to step up onto the podium and finish one-two in Super Sunday. We have a strong team and now we look forward to Rally Japan.”
Australia’s Harry Bates finished Rally Portugal under the Super Rally regulations.
He ended day one in 17th and 3m17.7s off the pace having suffered three punctures on Friday.
Bates was 13th overall midway through day two but failed to finish SS15 after a mistake damaged the right front suspension of his Toyota GR Yaris.
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