UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[reagansimms]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha
Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

Real Madrid cannot be underestimated when playing in the Champions League because they are recorded as the club that has won this trophy the most times. But this time the situation is very different from before, their performance is declining and the last defeat to Benfica forced them to play in the play-off round. Judging from the results of previous matches, Benfica chances are very big, especially since Jose Mourinho understands Real Madrid's playing style very well. I think Real Madrid fate is hanging in the balance this time, they have to rely on themselves if they want to qualify for the knockout stages.

[katanic97]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha
Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

Real Madrid cannot be underestimated when playing in the Champions League because they are recorded as the club that has won this trophy the most times. But this time the situation is very different from before, their performance is declining and the last defeat to Benfica forced them to play in the play-off round. Judging from the results of previous matches, Benfica chances are very big, especially since Jose Mourinho understands Real Madrid's playing style very well. I think Real Madrid fate is hanging in the balance this time, they have to rely on themselves if they want to qualify for the knockout stages.

When you look at Real Madrid as a club and its history, you are absolutely right , it is a team that has won this trophy many times.However, when we say that their current situation is very difficult, as we saw against Benfica, it’s hard to believe that much can change.My honest opinion is that they can’t achieve much in the UCL this season, simply because the change of coach and the poor behavior of some players have made them lose the spark that Real Madrid had at the beginning of the season. Of course, anything is possible, but it will be very difficult

[Volgastallion]

How in the hell can understimate Real Madrid as a team? And in Champions League less.... i mean what are you thinking to do something like that, REal Madrid is the only team in the world who can be a total shit and no matter what they are gonna beat you in a misteryous way with 5 goals in the last 10 minutes, i still remember how they comeback in several games a few seasons back when Benzema scores everything he touchs.

[$weetne$$]

When you look at Real Madrid as a club and its history, you are absolutely right , it is a team that has won this trophy many times.However, when we say that their current situation is very difficult, as we saw against Benfica, it’s hard to believe that much can change.My honest opinion is that they can’t achieve much in the UCL this season, simply because the change of coach and the poor behavior of some players have made them lose the spark that Real Madrid had at the beginning of the season. Of course, anything is possible, but it will be very difficult

Real Madrid has won the champion league trophy several times we know but this time, Madrid has not been as brilliant as a team that is very experienced with the champions league, I believe their frequency with which they often won the champions league has also been one of the Reasons Mbappe moved there, maybe he could secure his first UCL there but so far it does not seem like that dream is coming through soon and I believe it bothers him, maybe this season would have been more promising if they were performing well.

[giorgione]

We all know what Jose Mourinho has done in the Champions League competition,  with Inter Milan, and also with Porto,  whenever you recall that, you know he's never the manager to underestimate. A more thrilling game ahead between these sides and I've never been more than gassed to see the outcome of this fixture. I will chiefly champion appointing Jurgen Klopp, he is the best name now for that club Real Madrid. Erling Haaland movement?! Naaaa.

In fact, i see Jose Mourinho performing incredibly well in the Champions League zone. All the teams coached by this man are strong and always manage to surprise everyone in the European arena, and i don't see what the problem is with everything he does. He has also managed to win recently, always in Europe, and i think he's truly a great coach.

[changaa]

No one will argue that madrid's squad is very strong. Madrid also has the ability to win by a large margin against Benfica. But we all know the problem. Madrid is still  not able to play well with manager arbeloa.

We saw Madrid's performance against Benfica in the last  match of the first round. Madrid lost 4-2. Madrid performed very badly. If it weren't for Benfica's manager mourinho, no one would have talked about this match so much. Firstly , mourinho is the manager of Benfica and secondly, Arbeloa has very little  experience. Will Arbeloa be able to catch mourinho's clever tactics ? If not, I would not be surprised if Madrid loses again.

Real Madrid have a chance to win, of course no one is saying that they are as strong as when Ronaldo was there and they won so much, but it must be said that they are certainly stronger than Benfica, who are a great team but much less than them, even if they made them suffer i don't think they have a chance of winning.

[bastisisca]

I think you're right, Real Madrid must first solve the problems they have and that are making them play so poorly.
Without a solution to those problems, i don't see how i can play well even in a very competitive league like the Champions League: you're right.

Said and repeated, it hurts to see a team that has won everything, and even achieved many trebles, reduced to this state.
They should understand that the problem probably lies elsewhere and not with the coach.
We need Carlo Ancelotti to throw problem players out the window.

[Lillominato89]

No one will argue that madrid's squad is very strong. Madrid also has the ability to win by a large margin against Benfica. But we all know the problem. Madrid is still  not able to play well with manager arbeloa.

We saw Madrid's performance against Benfica in the last  match of the first round. Madrid lost 4-2. Madrid performed very badly. If it weren't for Benfica's manager mourinho, no one would have talked about this match so much. Firstly , mourinho is the manager of Benfica and secondly, Arbeloa has very little  experience. Will Arbeloa be able to catch mourinho's clever tactics ? If not, I would not be surprised if Madrid loses again.

Real Madrid have a chance to win, of course no one is saying that they are as strong as when Ronaldo was there and they won so much, but it must be said that they are certainly stronger than Benfica, who are a great team but much less than them, even if they made them suffer i don't think they have a chance of winning.

In my opinion, Real Madrid has nothing to fear against Benfica.
We are forgetting that Real Madrid had already qualified: if they won, they would advance to the next round among the top eight; if they lost, they would go through the play-offs, but Benfica would not! They had to win to secure a place in the play-offs, and they also had to win by as many goals as possible to reduce their negative goal difference.
In fact, they qualified as the last team at the expense of Marseille. If it hadn't been for their goalkeeper's goal at the end of the match, they probably wouldn't have qualified.

Now the Benfica vs Real Madrid match will be different because both teams will want to advance to the next round.

[jakdanyel]

The reason why Real Madrid are looking this inconsistent is not sticking with a certain manager. They got Xabi Alonso but he lasted only for half a season. This is just disrespect to his big success with Leverkusen in his first times of his job...  

If Florentino Perez was able to sign a more experienced and successful name then it would be tolerated. But to bring Arbeloa? No this doesn't make sense at all. Real Madrid chairman shouldn't act with anger anytime. He brought big achievements to this team.

[KTChampions]

How in the hell can understimate Real Madrid as a team? And in Champions League less.... i mean what are you thinking to do something like that, REal Madrid is the only team in the world who can be a total shit and no matter what they are gonna beat you in a misteryous way with 5 goals in the last 10 minutes, i still remember how they comeback in several games a few seasons back when Benzema scores everything he touchs.

Those people who write nonsense here about Real being weak and Benfica beating them won't bet money on it, it's empty talk. If they were obliged to put their money where their mouth is, their opinions would be quite different. For example, bookmakers are responsible for their opinions with money, so we see that Real is a clear favorite to reach the 1/8.
Personally, I'll wait for the results of the first games and then think about cash betting (betting on favorites with tiny odds in the first games doesn't make sense) since I'm interested in games where the favorites will be forced to play at full strength in the return game.

[free-bit.co.in]

Real Madrid cannot be underestimated when playing in the Champions League because they are recorded as the club that has won this trophy the most times. But this time the situation is very different from before, their performance is declining and the last defeat to Benfica forced them to play in the play-off round. Judging from the results of previous matches, Benfica chances are very big, especially since Jose Mourinho understands Real Madrid's playing style very well. I think Real Madrid fate is hanging in the balance this time, they have to rely on themselves if they want to qualify for the knockout stages.

Real madrid is the most experienced team in the champions league. But they are currently facing several problems. First, the relationship between Madrid's players is not good. And second, madrid's current coach Arbeloa is not very experienced. And this is why Madrid's performance  is not very strong. Also, ,adrid lost badly in the last match of the first round against benfica. And this is why it is not certain whether madrid will be able to perform well in the playoffs. Anyway, madrid's chances of winning  are high. Madrid's boys will not make the same mistake against benfica again. Madrid will win only if the  manager can create a decent strategy.

[Sarah Azhari]

The reason why Real Madrid are looking this inconsistent is not sticking with a certain manager. They got Xabi Alonso but he lasted only for half a season. This is just disrespect to his big success with Leverkusen in his first times of his job...  

If Florentino Perez was able to sign a more experienced and successful name then it would be tolerated. But to bring Arbeloa? No this doesn't make sense at all. Real Madrid chairman shouldn't act with anger anytime. He brought big achievements to this team.

I agree with you. Changing coaches mid-season is extremely risky, especially if the coach being replaced is inexperienced, and the Real Madrid squad isn't in good shape due to numerous injuries. Now, Arbeloa faces a major dilemma: he must guide Real Madrid to the Champions League round of 16 with condition many injured players. If Real Madrid doesn't qualify, Florentino Perez will be must accountable for his policies.

[Tmoonz]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha
Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

In fact, no one should underestimate Real Madrid, but we know very well that Jose Mourino knows Real Madrid well and how they behave in certain contexts, and with Benfica i think they have the possibility of doing very well, he demonstrated it in the last match they played against them, it was clear that they would succeed.

Real Madrid cannot be underestimated when playing in the Champions League because they are recorded as the club that has won this trophy the most times. But this time the situation is very different from before, their performance is declining and the last defeat to Benfica forced them to play in the play-off round. Judging from the results of previous matches, Benfica chances are very big, especially since Jose Mourinho understands Real Madrid's playing style very well. I think Real Madrid fate is hanging in the balance this time, they have to rely on themselves if they want to qualify for the knockout stages.

In my own opinion I'd say Jose Mourinho knows nothing about this current Real Madrid team he might have coached them in years past and a lot of things has changed non of those players are still there now playing so if you talk of anything understanding the team he actually knows nothing about the team now, but the fact is I don't really see Real Madrid winning that game so easily and I don't also see them losing it so easily too, the fact is the game is 50/50 any of those teams can win the match mostly Real Madrid because I know them to be very mean when it comes to this stage in the competition so Jose and his boys should just watch out or have themselves to blame.

[dollyamo]

I would not say it's 50-50% just because of the last game. Last game was a mishap and Real Madrid normally plays a lot better, this is why I never liked h2h results of teams because you look at one game and you think they are remotely close. The likelier chance would be Real Madrid winning both games very easily. I am not saying that is what will happen, because it's football and of course anything could happen which happened last game, I am just saying odds of it happening again would be very low.

The 50% possibility seems so absurd to me, this is something that can depend on many factors and I think that if Real Madrid really put in the effort they can win without problems, obviously this is an unknown and no one knows how things will really go but I am sure that Real Madrid can win without problems if they only wanted to 100%

[Adbitco]

I agree with you. Changing coaches mid-season is extremely risky, especially if the coach being replaced is inexperienced, and the Real Madrid squad isn't in good shape due to numerous injuries. Now, Arbeloa faces a major dilemma: he must guide Real Madrid to the Champions League round of 16 with condition many injured players. If Real Madrid doesn't qualify, Florentino Perez will be must accountable for his policies.

Real Madrid changed coach mid season that very year, I think around January or February of 2016 when they sacked Raphael Benitez and replaced him with Castila coach, Zidane. They have repeated the same thing again this year maybe they are thinking that Zidane's magic will be replicated, lol. This very Real Madrid team will be knocked out and they will not exceed QF, they don't have the criteria and players they had back in those days when they appointed Zidane as interim manager just as they have appointed this very many now. In my opinion, I think this Real Madrid team will still go trophyless this season. The ego's in the team is way too much and the number of stars in the team are not as much as they were around the period Real Madrid dominated Europe and won 3 consecutive Champions League.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

Real Madrid cannot be underestimated when playing in the Champions League because they are recorded as the club that has won this trophy the most times. But this time the situation is very different from before, their performance is declining and the last defeat to Benfica forced them to play in the play-off round. Judging from the results of previous matches, Benfica chances are very big, especially since Jose Mourinho understands Real Madrid's playing style very well. I think Real Madrid fate is hanging in the balance this time, they have to rely on themselves if they want to qualify for the knockout stages.

I don't know if you would have said the same thing if Real Madrid had won against Benfica and remained the third in the UCL table

Yes, performance has not been that good, but this is how Real Madrid has been for the past few seasons. Last season they had to go for playoffs with Manchester City. Very many people wrote Real Madrid off, but you know what happened.

I am seeing a similar kind of thing happening, and come February 25th, we will know the outcome. I am personally confident that Real Madrid is going to beat Benfica after the two legs.

[Rockson1]

It's going to be a revenge match, Real Madrid missed an opportunity to qualify without the playoffs because of Benfica so they’ll be back for revenge, although Benfica might survive the first leg of the playoffs because it's in their ground but I don't think they'll survive the second leg since it would be at Real Madrid's ground. People say that Masrid is a finished team because of how they handled the Champions league  this season, well let's see if they're truly finished or not.

There are two things to expect in that match, is either Realmadrid will lose or the win but which ever way, I do not see the match being an easy ride for Realmadrid, madrid is not finished and whoever said that might be saying that because of anger of how Realmadrid performwd in that match between them and benfica, it was a surprise to many of us to see Madrid lose 4:2 to Benfica, it was a disappointing moment for Realmadrid fans and overall Madrid sympathizers, the opportunity is here again for Realmadrid, but my question is, will Benfica allow them.

[IjawMan]

Underestimating Real Madrid is not a pretty cool idea,  you should rather have your thoughts within until the game is over Haha
Is Jose Mourinhos Benfica in a good form, this is another tough question to ask yourself. The odds should have been a lot lesser if they thought Real Madrid to win but that game will be tough. The toughest of these games will be Inter Milan travelling to Norway to face Bodo at home. Take a look at how they dealt with Manchester City,  Inter Milan should come prepared for war.

No matter what happens, Real Madrid is still regarded as favourites irrespective of the result of their last encounter with Benfica,

This time it is going to be different cause not like the previous one it is going to be a two way match that involves aggregate which means every goal would count and there would be another chance for either team if they fail to utilise the first leg.

Inter Milan will not allow a repeat of what transpired between Manchester city and Bodo glimpt, I do not think inter will underrate the Norwegian side cause if they do, it will be at their own detriment and same fate that befell Manchester city might also befall Inter in this game.

[Ayers]

There are two things to expect in that match, is either Realmadrid will lose or the win but which ever way, I do not see the match being an easy ride for Realmadrid, madrid is not finished and whoever said that might be saying that because of anger of how Realmadrid performwd in that match between them and benfica, it was a surprise to many of us to see Madrid lose 4:2 to Benfica, it was a disappointing moment for Realmadrid fans and overall Madrid sympathizers, the opportunity is here again for Realmadrid, but my question is, will Benfica allow them.

It will definitely be very difficult for madrid to win this match. Let's not forget that the current manager of Benfica is mourinho. He is very experienced.

Madrid is not in a  good position. We can see that Arbeloa has  not been able to strengthen this team yet. In this situation, facing the clever mourinho will be very challenging for him. If he can not create a good match strategy and if he fails to identify benfica's weaknesses , then I am sure that Madrid's side  will have a very difficult time qualifying for the round of 16...