UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[Rruchi man]

I have no doubt that Mourinho is a good manager he has won many important championships with various clubs in the past. I also saw him at Fenerbahçe, but things didn't go exactly as planned there. He caught Real Madrid at a time when they were having a bad game. However, it must be said that Mourinho understood Real Madrid's tactics well and deserved to win the match.

I am amongst those who think that since he has done it once, he could have a repeat of it. Real Madrid will be the team playing with lesser confidence that day because the Benfica players, having won the clash once already this season, will be confident that they could do it all again.

... incidentally Galatasaray so far has the ability when facing opponents higher than them, this is just a matter of preparation, if they find the right tactics, the chance of qualifying is not impossible.

I will like to stake on this game; Galatasaray is going to be the team to pull through.

[JeffBrad12]

Galatasaray has been drawn against Juventus in the Round of 16 play-offs. Juventus has a bad history with Galatasaray in this regard. I can say that this is the ideal opponent for Galatasaray.

Juventus has a name. I watched their Monaco match. There was no memorable attacking organization or anything else. Galatasaray's chances of advancing are 51%.

You're just too convincing with Galatasaray to win the game. The last game between them vs Juve happened 2013/14. So how can you use such outdated h2h to determine the probability? Seeing how poor they against City, this clearly puts Juve as favorite to win the game.
Even bookies gave Juve 2.48 for away game compared to them 3.13.  To me, Juve may have a slightly higher probability than them in term of probability.

But let's see how it's going on. I expect an exciting game since Juve is not a structured team, but a passion team like them. So this game is worthy to watch.

[bitLeap]

It must be admitted that Benfica deserved the win, and Mourinho was indeed able to read Real Madrid's strategy very well. Mourinho was also very motivated going into the match because besides wanting to win, he was also ambitious to qualify his team for the next round. What happened was very dramatic until the final seconds. Real Madrid does have a good squad, but Arbeloa was unable to control his squad and he appeared nervous, which made his team's play disoriented.

Benfica played an excellent game that was very prolific for them reaching the playoffs but let's say that there was also some demerit from the Real Madrid players who did not assert themselves in this game and prostrated themselves to Benfica's incessant attacks!

Because now most of the Madrid players are not what they used to be so I'm not sure the mentality and remontada will be there anymore in this team. Especially for the back line which is very bad at keeping defense. Up front, they are still dependent on Mbappe goals, it's unimaginable that if there was no Mbappe goal in yesterday's match, the situation might be even worse.
Meeting again in the play offs with Benfica is a disaster, 2 legs are a big gamble for a club as big as Real Madrid.

[Raflesia]

here we go guys - the play-offs have just been drawn!!!

Will this be lucky or unlucky for Madrid?
They meet Benfica again in the play offs and this could either be a good revenge or a disaster for them as they lost dramatically in the previous match and Trubin had a very good game.

Rodrygo and Asencio won't be in the squad either as they have card suspensions which makes the play offs a bit tricky for Madrid.
Let's hope for the best as it would be very tricky if they lose to Benfica again in the play offs.

[letteredhub]

The English league has once again earned my respect among the leagues of football in Europe for this outstanding performance they had shown in European stage of the UCL competition. Chelsea game was very much interesting especially with how the goals were making the score sheet that at a time I almost felt like Chelsea wouldn't get an automatic qualification but they showed tenacity and resilience to back down at the latest moment unexpected.  Rosenior do deserve some accolades for being able to manage the team in such a short time against the Italian champions on their own home ground. I am hoping the positive results stay consistent.

Real Madrid had a lot of heart broken last night, like it was just another wholesome disappointment to the fans. A rash decision taken at a wrong timing by the Madrid management in sacking Xabi Alonso, perhaps if the man was still in charge Benfica might not have cooked the White Angesl as they did in Portugal last night. Now they have to play in the playoff and may likely meet Benfica again.

Real Madrid has been in such a position for a long time. Before the coach change, Real Madrid's position was not very good. But now, after winning against several small teams, everyone started to think that maybe Madrid had returned to their previous position. But losing this match against Benfica proved again that Madrid has not changed in any way. Benfica's defense was so strong that it became very difficult for Real Madrid players to break Benfica's defense and Benfica's attacking part was able to break Real Madrid's defense very easily.

I think Real Madrid has become very vulnerable from last season even before the departure of Carlo Ancelotti, the team has lost their dominance and this has rendered them a bit weak unlike the champions that used to dominate Europe.

Xabi Alonso was suppose to be the one to motivate the players after stepping into Ancelotti's shoes but unfortunately he wasn't able to do much due to his untimely removal as head coach which ushered in Arbeloa who came in on interim basis and haven't been able to adequately lead the team successfully,  especially after losing to Benfica in such am important game that would have helped the team escape the playoffs.

[Princess Leah]

It must be admitted that Benfica deserved the win, and Mourinho was indeed able to read Real Madrid's strategy very well. Mourinho was also very motivated going into the match because besides wanting to win, he was also ambitious to qualify his team for the next round. What happened was very dramatic until the final seconds. Real Madrid does have a good squad, but Arbeloa was unable to control his squad and he appeared nervous, which made his team's play disoriented.

Benfica played an excellent game that was very prolific for them reaching the playoffs but let's say that there was also some demerit from the Real Madrid players who did not assert themselves in this game and prostrated themselves to Benfica's incessant attacks!

I have no doubt that Mourinho is a good manager he has won many important championships with various clubs in the past. I also saw him at Fenerbahçe, but things didn't go exactly as planned there. He caught Real Madrid at a time when they were having a bad game. However, it must be said that Mourinho understood Real Madrid's tactics well and deserved to win the match.

Real Madrid needs to remain in the top eight but they didn't put enough effort to make it possible, however Mourinho's team despite being the underdogs were desperate to qualify for the playoffs so they put lots of effort and work together as a team to give everyone a big surprise, if Real Madrid players had pressured them enough maybe they would've finished in the top eight.

 You could see how serious Benfica player were that thd keeper had to obey Mourinho's instructions and rushed to score a goal from the set piece, he wasted to time when his manager instructed him to move forward and it worked perfectly, well being in thd playoffs is not bad afterall and Madrid should learn from this.

[Adams0001]

Kudos to Benfica who managed to defeat a very nervous Real Madrid.
Honestly, i was disappointed with Real Madrid's behavior and performance.
I wouldn't have expected such a bad game from them.
I didn't think they could play that badly. Happens

No one expect real madrid will be defeated against Benfica in the last game of the Champions League group stage. But that is good performance from Benfica because if they didn't win real madrid they won't have qualify for the playoffs. And now they will still face each other again in the playoff that is when we will see if they can succeed against Real Madrid for the second time but get the believe that real madrid can not be knockout in the playoff round they will do everything possible to achieve the victory. They are playing the first leg in Benfica home the second leg will be played in madrid home and that is huge opportunity for real madrid to win the game and move the round of 16th. They will focus in the laliga currently since thy have hope to top the league competition.

[changaa]

Arsenal is mediocre. Bayern tried and therefore is mediocre. Barcelona tried and therefore is mediocre. Like what the fuck, what is this sentence even?
I was wondering the same. What does this mean? Real Madrid is the real mediocre team here because that defeat that happened yesterday was ridiculous. They were knocked by one of the weakest teams in this competition. Benfica failed in so many matches against weak teams and successfully humiliated Real Madrid.

Now they are very unstable as a team they can't do much and we saw it against Benfica, but i don't think is the problem of changing coaches, the problem was already there but Ancelotti managed to get everyone to agree, clear that then by leaving he left the team in difficulty.

[m4r1o]

It must be admitted that Benfica deserved the win, and Mourinho was indeed able to read Real Madrid's strategy very well. Mourinho was also very motivated going into the match because besides wanting to win, he was also ambitious to qualify his team for the next round. What happened was very dramatic until the final seconds. Real Madrid does have a good squad, but Arbeloa was unable to control his squad and he appeared nervous, which made his team's play disoriented.

He's an old hand, we all know he's a skilled strategist, I remember him fondly when he coached Roma, I always liked him as a coach and I was sorry he was fired.
It probably wasn't the right time or he was playing a predictable game.

I don't know why it didn't work.

[el kaka22]

Benfica knows that they may lose this round, because facing Real Madrid, and twice as well, is a horror for them without a doubt I am not against that. But they also saw that if they needed to beat Real, they did it and repeating that again in the same season, so much back to back, is difficult and possibly unlikely as well. However it is not really that shocking neither, it can happen and not impossible.

We could possibly see them do this and be good and there is a potential that we are going to see them do a fine job. Who knows, there is no guarantee that Real Madrid will win, they are in turmoil right now and have so many issues, maybe Benfica could win and shock the whole world. Possibly not, but the possibility is not zero.

[bastisisca]

..

It has no history, like Real Madrid or Milan, of course, i can't argue about that.
He's building it and if they succeed they'll try to take the cup.
Personally, I'd love to see the Arsenal vs Inter final, just to have my team competing for the cup too.

[GiftedMAN]

Benfica knows that they may lose this round, because facing Real Madrid, and twice as well, is a horror for them without a doubt I am not against that. But they also saw that if they needed to beat Real, they did it and repeating that again in the same season, so much back to back, is difficult and possibly unlikely as well. However it is not really that shocking neither, it can happen and not impossible.

Nothing is impossible in football and coming from a team that saw the weakness in Real Madrid and took advantage of it to score 4 goals Jose Mourinho should know that his team should prepare for war because is either they best Real Madrid again to mark history or they lose so Real Madrid will qualify. Real Madrid will be without some of their players it's an advantage for Benfica to beat them again if they can be very strong like the first game so the result will determine if Real Madrid will keep their coach or let him go.

[aylabadia05]

here we go guys - the play-offs have just been drawn!!!

Real Madrid has the opportunity to do what they consider a failure in the UCL when facing their last match because this draw has once again brought Benfica and Real Madrid together for two legs. Leg 1 will be in Portugal on February 18 and Leg 2 will be in Spain on February 26.
Round 8 seems like Real Madrid will never forget how they had to accept defeat.

PSG must also face Monaco in the playoffs following the draw results. One of these Ligue 1 teams will be eliminated.
Qarabag must once again face an English team, Newcastle, after being defeated 6-0 by Liverpool in Round 8.

[Nahl]

here we go guys - the play-offs have just been drawn!!!

Will this be lucky or unlucky for Madrid?
They meet Benfica again in the play offs and this could either be a good revenge or a disaster for them as they lost dramatically in the previous match and Trubin had a very good game.

Rodrygo and Asencio won't be in the squad either as they have card suspensions which makes the play offs a bit tricky for Madrid.
Let's hope for the best as it would be very tricky if they lose to Benfica again in the play offs.

The bad thing for Real Madrid is for first leg game Benfica will playing as a host and Mourinho is smart manager he know after changing the coach Real madrid performance is still unstable and i think he will take the advantages from this condition with attempts to won over Madrid again and i know Madrid had ambition want to get revenge but with their current condition it's hard for them to beat Benfica so, for this game i assume Real madrid will being an the favourite because they are the big team but i think Benfica possibly can make a surprise and has the ability to make Madrid failed to qualified to the next round

[Franctoshi]

Arsenal had a good run in this season's champions league phase and they did the unthinkable, unbeaten 8/8 no lost game and it seems like these guys are ready to take on any team that comes their way. At this point which of these teams are capable enough to stop the Gunners; Dortmund, Atalanta, Olympiacos and Bayer Leverkusen...can they stop Arsenal?

Don't be too optimistic about Arsenal this you they actually used to showcase interesting performances but in the end they will get eliminated, Remember Manchester United just humbled Arsenal in their last premier League encounter, this is champions League competition and they've entered the toughest stage of the competition right now, but judging based on their last season's performance and this one presently, They definitely will do very well but, I can't say they got that capacity this period still looking at other teams present.

[Just Say]

We saw once again yesterday in the Champions League match that Barcelona can make a sudden comeback, in fact after Copenhagen took the lead with a goal in just 4 minutes, many were left wondering if Barcelona would lose this match, but then Poland's Robert Lewandowski turned the UCL match around as we saw him successfully score a goal in the 48th minute. From then on, the team went on a rampage and I noticed that this Spanish team constantly attacked and finally stopped after scoring four goals.

If the Copenhagen team had been as aggressive as they were in the early stages, my opinion they might have given Barcelona a harder time but it's correct that was not possible, as a result the Catalans were able to take victory from yesterday's UCL match.

[odunybiz]

Benfica played an excellent game that was very prolific for them reaching the playoffs but let's say that there was also some demerit from the Real Madrid players who did not assert themselves in this game and prostrated themselves to Benfica's incessant attacks!

Real Madrid has fallen back to 9th place in the CL-League. If they won the game, the third place would been possible. If Real Madrid doesnt win any titles this year, there will definitely be a new coach. They are out of the Copa del Rey, they are behind Barcelona in La Liga, and they are currently in the Champions League, but they cant lose any more games. So Real needs to win more games, or Arbeloa Alvaro will have a very difficult time.

Real Madrid is staring is knock out playoff with Benfica. Do you think this match will be easy for Benfica. Benfica has won Real Madrid recently 4-2, in this next match Real Madrid will want to proof their supremacy over Benfica. Should we say Benfica may be out of the league. It will be a strong battle between the two.

I am not happy that PSG was paired with another French club. This means that only one Ligue One club would compete for the UCL trophy. Thesame thing happened last season when both French sides (Brest and PSG) met in the playoffs. Are there no means by which this issue can be handled?

I think the same on this as well. Even if two french sides are to meet, I think it shouldn't be this early knock out stage. It looks unfair having just 2 french clubs and are picked to face each other so early.

[ndutndut]

here we go guys - the play-offs have just been drawn!!!

Will this be lucky or unlucky for Madrid?
They meet Benfica again in the play offs and this could either be a good revenge or a disaster for them as they lost dramatically in the previous match and Trubin had a very good game.

Rodrygo and Asencio won't be in the squad either as they have card suspensions which makes the play offs a bit tricky for Madrid.
Let's hope for the best as it would be very tricky if they lose to Benfica again in the play offs.

I'm confident that Arbeloa will play a different game in the play-offs than before. He certainly won't repeat the same mistakes with the same game plan as in the previous match. Moreover, the play-offs will be played over two legs, so my prediction is that Real Madrid will play deeper at Benfica's home ground. Albeloa doesn't want to play an open game like yesterday's 4-0 defeat.

If Real Madrid wants to advance to the round of 16 I believe Arbeloa must win the first leg. Losing or drawing the first leg will make the second leg difficult, as Mourinho is very adept at playing defensively. Therefore, Real Madrid must make the first leg a crucial match to secure a win.

[ILuckyGuyI]

Real Madrid is staring is knock out playoff with Benfica. Do you think this match will be easy for Benfica. Benfica has won Real Madrid recently 4-2, in this next match Real Madrid will want to proof their supremacy over Benfica. Should we say Benfica may be out of the league. It will be a strong battle between the two.

I think it won't be this difficult for Real Madrid when they meet again in this round.    That was a different situation. Real Madrid were already safe and sound in league phase.

Benfica needed the win by such goal difference to barely make it into top 24. But now Real Madrid will be more serious. They wouldn't make the same mistakes.

I think the same on this as well. Even if two french sides are to meet, I think it shouldn't be this early knock out stage. It looks unfair having just 2 french clubs and are picked to face each other so early.

It's a boring matchup.    It sounds like a league game between Monaco and PSG. But the winner of this faces Barcelona or Chelsea. This is interesting...

[Derekfunds]

It must be admitted that Benfica deserved the win, and Mourinho was indeed able to read Real Madrid's strategy very well. Mourinho was also very motivated going into the match because besides wanting to win, he was also ambitious to qualify his team for the next round. What happened was very dramatic until the final seconds. Real Madrid does have a good squad, but Arbeloa was unable to control his squad and he appeared nervous, which made his team's play disoriented.

Benfica played an excellent game that was very prolific for them reaching the playoffs but let's say that there was also some demerit from the Real Madrid players who did not assert themselves in this game and prostrated themselves to Benfica's incessant attacks!

Because now most of the Madrid players are not what they used to be so I'm not sure the mentality and remontada will be there anymore in this team. Especially for the back line which is very bad at keeping defense. Up front, they are still dependent on Mbappe goals, it's unimaginable that if there was no Mbappe goal in yesterday's match, the situation might be even worse.
Meeting again in the play offs with Benfica is a disaster, 2 legs are a big gamble for a club as big as Real Madrid.

Mbappe is there finisher I mean there main striker and so he should be accountable for that position and always deliver all the time and that is what he is doing and sometimes, a player can be so lucky and fortunate to be scoring all the time and mbappe  happens to be that player currently in Real Madrid and he is always striving to score and also found at the right position and place to score though sometimes it is not just luck only but rather right positioning and movement which Mbappe really has.