UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[Jaycoinz]

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.

Like you said it's football so they will battle it out again and the better team of course will get the ticket to the next round but one thing is certain though and that's the fact that Real Madrid wouldn't like to loose out to benfica again for the second time so it would certainly be interesting if the clash was to feature again and we all will be in for a lot of goals indeed.

[RockBell]

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.

They have been to open and that is why they are conceding goals and this is because there defence is just to bad and the issue is that as poor as there defence is there attack is also bad, and there coach have not be able to keep up with all the games, so they don't even have what it takes to win the game. And by now they are very weak when it comes to the champions league, I don't know the kind of miracle that will happen they can not win the champions league so very soon all this things does not matter to them.

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.

Xabi Alonso have even run out of idea because sometimes motivation does not work,  they need to be able to do well even without motivation,  and club needs proper handling, and it was good that they sacked xabi Alonso because the club needs to get back to there feet and even with there new coach they are not able to still perform well we don't know if the coach needs to settle in the more, the way real Madrid have been losing games is just something that have made everyone lost interest in most of there games.

[LUCKMCFLY]

It is also a do or die match for The coach if Galatasary, they need this win too and if Manchester City can lose to Bodø/Glimt they will strongly believe that they can also get atleast a draw.
It is also not about winning for Manchester City because other teams like Barcelona are looking to get into the top eight to Manchester City will need to win with many goals to stand any chance to qualify, I think it will either be a draw or city loses.

Well, it's a fact that City did their homework; the one who didn't do their homework by qualifying directly was Real Madrid But I'm really happy for City, especially for Pep, who is a great coach. Like everyone, he goes through good times and bad, but I'm very glad they're in the round of 16 That's great; some really good teams qualified too.

[Joy_learns_crypto]

It is also a do or die match for The coach if Galatasary, they need this win too and if Manchester City can lose to Bodø/Glimt they will strongly believe that they can also get atleast a draw.
It is also not about winning for Manchester City because other teams like Barcelona are looking to get into the top eight to Manchester City will need to win with many goals to stand any chance to qualify, I think it will either be a draw or city loses.

Well, it's a fact that City did their homework; the one who didn't do their homework by qualifying directly was Real Madrid But I'm really happy for City, especially for Pep, who is a great coach. Like everyone, he goes through good times and bad, but I'm very glad they're in the round of 16 That's great; some really good teams qualified too.

Pep is a great Coach but you got it wrong because Real Madrid did not qualify directly they will be in the UCL playoffs and according to the draw done today they will be facing Benfica again.
Benfica are the reason why Real Madrid aren’t in the top eight and they have another chance to stop Real Madrid from going into the knockout stages.

[Akbarkoe]

It is also a do or die match for The coach if Galatasary, they need this win too and if Manchester City can lose to Bodø/Glimt they will strongly believe that they can also get atleast a draw.
It is also not about winning for Manchester City because other teams like Barcelona are looking to get into the top eight to Manchester City will need to win with many goals to stand any chance to qualify, I think it will either be a draw or city loses.

Well, it's a fact that City did their homework; the one who didn't do their homework by qualifying directly was Real Madrid But I'm really happy for City, especially for Pep, who is a great coach. Like everyone, he goes through good times and bad, but I'm very glad they're in the round of 16 That's great; some really good teams qualified too.

City played very well here, which was a great achievement, and they were able to qualify directly for the playoffs. Meanwhile, my favorite team was disappointed by Arbeloa's defeat against Benfica. This was beyond my expectations, as Real Madrid had previously been much better. Watching the few matches since Arbeloa's arrival gave me renewed enthusiasm, as they were able to win well. But yesterday I was disappointed with the very poor result.

This qualifying round is too long, even though I had hope. But losing to Benfica doesn't necessarily mean other teams can't do it, especially since there are so many teams above Benfica in the playoff qualifying group.

[Issa56]

The Benfica team was very aggressive and I think their goalkeeper contributed a lot in that match.

Benfica goalkeeper scored a superb goal during the extra time of the match, I was just so surprised with how he scored the goal because I never expected the goal. Benfica goalkeeper is the reason why they will be playing in the champions league play off. He played so well in the match, and he was able to score the final goal for Benfica which made them qualify for the champions league play off. If not for the final goal which was scored by the Benfica goalkeeper they wouldn’t have qualified for the champions league play off.

Benfica are the reason why Real Madrid aren’t in the top eight and they have another chance to stop Real Madrid from going into the knockout stages.

Benfica surprised people in the match, they are the only reason why Real Madrid will be playing the play off, and the match surprised most people, and Benfica were lucky to be playing the playoff.

[eightdots]

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.

Like you said it's football so they will battle it out again and the better team of course will get the ticket to the next round but one thing is certain though and that's the fact that Real Madrid wouldn't like to loose out to benfica again for the second time so it would certainly be interesting if the clash was to feature again and we all will be in for a lot of goals indeed.

Real Madrid won't give their opponent a chance this time. I think they need to take it a little more seriously and eliminate the possibility of losing in this round. Real Madrid is a very strong team, but their squad choices and substitution decisions put them in a difficult position. If they can find a solution to this, I don't think Benfica has a chance in this tie.

I think the deciding factor in this match will be how much Real Madrid wants the game. If they give the game the necessary importance, they can get a comfortable victory. Sometimes unexpected results happen in matches, and the first match ended with an unexpected result.

[Danica22]

Xabi Alonso have even run out of idea because sometimes motivation does not work,  they need to be able to do well even without motivation,  and club needs proper handling, and it was good that they sacked xabi Alonso because the club needs to get back to there feet and even with there new coach they are not able to still perform well we don't know if the coach needs to settle in the more, the way real Madrid have been losing games is just something that have made everyone lost interest in most of there games.

Madrid management should have fired Alonso after finding an  experienced coach. Madrid have given the responsibility to a manager who is even less experienced than alonso. It is very unlikely that Arbeloa will strengthen madrid and solve madrid's internal problems. Alonso was undoubtedly a better manager than Arbeloa. Anyway, Madrid will play their next match against rayo vallecano. This team is relatively weak. But it is not certain whether Madrid will be able to play well.

[Stavri]

Looks like the gods are trolling Real Madrid   That miracle goal by Trubin didn't just put Benfica into the playoffs it set them up against Real. It’s the perfect stage for Mourinho to do his thing and put on a show again.

This is not just strolling mate, they just want a piece of real madrid  
On paper real madrid will always be the favourite to progress in this both legs, and it would be difficult to put your money against them, but the Jose Mourinho factor benfica came with is another reason this game would be fascinating and difficult for this real madrid team.
Now that real madrid don't have a reliable manager, I really doubt if real madrid can prove themselves this time around and win this benfica team managed by Jose Mourinho over both legs. It would really be fascinating, and it's one of the playoff games I will be looking up to.

For any neutral fan, this is undoubtedly the most captivating matchup of the draw. i am sure Real Madrid wants revenge so bad. But even if Real Madrid wins, Benfica is the winner for me unless the goalkeeper scores a goal  

[LUCKMCFLY]

Benfica really do well to win the match and they get the chance to win. Since I so Madrid have getting a lot of card and red card I see they can’t get the three point anymore in the match. They should just try and win there playoffs game and get the opportunity to qualify for the next round.

What happened to Real Madrid is a total failure The players aren't hungry to win. If it hadn't been for Asensio, Mbappé, and Courtois, they would have scored at least seven goals. So that's not Real Madrid Neither Xabi Alonso nor Arbaloa are up to the task I don't know , I think the players aren't at the level of the club, They can't. They need a very experienced coach who can bring order. I've been a Real Madrid fan since I was in my mother's womb, but what they did yesterday was a disgrace.

[slapper]

~

That is why I always say that football matches can be unpredictable sometimes, the team you expect to win the other team will end up losing to the team you felt they will outperform. The match between real Madrid and Benfica was an interesting one, both teams performed very well, but luck ran out of real Madrid and they where defeated by Benfica. Before the match day a lot of persons already concluded that real Madrid will beat Benfica which i believe that larger numbers of person's bet on real Madrid to win Benfica, but the table ended up turning around and the opposite happened.

I can't agree less on your second paragraph, because there is Some truth in what you just said. Since coach Mourinho has once coached real Madrid there is a possibility that he might have become familiar with the rhythm of their game just as you said. But that's by way because the deed has already been done. Let's just look forward and see how real Madrid will perform in their next match.

Madrid's new coach had been there for like two and a half weeks. Arbeloa in fact got promoted mid-January because they sacked Alonso.

Everyone keeps saying "oh Benfica got lucky". Yet nobody mentions that their 21 year old winger absolutely destroyed Madrid's defence. Twice. Schjelderup cost them fourteen million euros and he's running circles around a billion-euro squad...

Two red cards in stoppage time, players losing their heads completely. That's a team that lacks leadership. That's what happens when you panic hire your B team and put them in a Champions league finale.

But yeah you're right one thing, the rematch is what matters now. And they literally just drew Benfica again in the playoffs. So Madrid's have two weeks to figure out how to not get embarrassed twice in a row by their old manager.

Good luck with that.

[beerlover]

Benfica probably feels like they're in a horror movie, the standard scenario: you kill the monster, but then that monster is back in front of you and it's twice as hard to kill  
In general, unfortunately, there is only one even pair: Dortmund - Atalanta, maybe also Galatasaray - Juventus. In the rest, the outcome is clear in advance, although something funny like Monaco winning over PSG could happen, I think Monaco has no fear of PSG since they play against them at least twice a year.

LMAO, that is funny! I do agree that Benfica must be pretty upset, but the chances were obvious and they knew who they would face against even if they got out. So being in the playoffs, for some of these teams, is not about winning and going further, but the participation itself.

I am sure Benfica, Galatasaray, Qarabag, Monaco, Bodo, these are all teams that will want to go further but they would not be upset if they lose neither. Like if Benfica loses to Real, that's fine for Benfica and nobody would be mad, but if Real loses to Benfica, that would shake things up big time.

[promise444c5]

Well, it's a fact that City did their homework; the one who didn't do their homework by qualifying directly was Real Madrid But I'm really happy for City, especially for Pep, who is a great coach. Like everyone, he goes through good times and bad, but I'm very glad they're in the round of 16 That's great; some really good teams qualified too.

Not sure how long, though. I doubt they have what it takes to compete this season. The shuffle could favor them a bit, but with the teams already in the Round of 16, I doubt they’ll make it that far. They have some upcoming games against Newcastle, and I want to see how they handle them the second time, as that could be part of their next UCL shuffle…

Deep down, I want them to face Real Madrid again .. I hope they madrid make it to the Round of 16.

[Stablexcoin]

For any neutral fan, this is undoubtedly the most captivating matchup of the draw. i am sure Real Madrid wants revenge so bad. But even if Real Madrid wins, Benfica is the winner for me unless the goalkeeper scores a goal  

This is where benfica will get knocked out of the Champions League, this time around they can't beat Real Madrid, my prediction is that Real Madrid will win both legs, home and away. If Benfica feel relaxed because they defeated Barcelona with the whole internet hype because the goalkeeper scored a goal in the match, that is exactly where the failure begins, Real Madrid only need the first leg to decide their qualification to the next round.

[Zoomic]

For any neutral fan, this is undoubtedly the most captivating matchup of the draw. i am sure Real Madrid wants revenge so bad. But even if Real Madrid wins, Benfica is the winner for me unless the goalkeeper scores a goal  

This is where benfica will get knocked out of the Champions League, this time around they can't beat Real Madrid, my prediction is that Real Madrid will win both legs, home and away. If Benfica feel relaxed because they defeated Barcelona with the whole internet hype because the goalkeeper scored a goal in the match, that is exactly where the failure begins, Real Madrid only need the first leg to decide their qualification to the next round.

Bro!
Mate!
Dude!
Don't forget that Jose Mourinho, the special one is involved.
Real Madrid may qualify, no doubt, but saying that Real Madrid will beat Benfica both home and away seems that you are underrating Benfica.
Don't forget that Real Madrid is not in their best form yet, they are still struggling and Benfica has more team bonding than them.
Real Madrid is depending on individual brilliance which is risky because individuals can fail but team cannot fail.

[red4slash]

Week 8 of the standings changed quite drastically and this is something that Madrid did not expect because with this defeat the position that was previously comfortable and could qualify directly in the end had to be left alone which made them have to go through the play off phase but the good thing is that this is an opportunity for Mbappe to score more goals.

Now if we want to see a positive side for Real Madrid, they have more time to focus on La Liga, where they have arch-rival Barcelona just one point away, one single point

This way you can focus on this goal and concentrate better both physically and mentally.

Now in the play offs they'll face Benfica again and it could be a tricky situation because when their patterns are read again like they were in the previous match then it's obviously going to be more complicated.

I think Madrid will also have to hope for the weather conditions when they return to the Estádio da Luz because their game doesn't improve when it rains and it costs them.
The first leg will be away again and this should be a proving ground for them to get revenge as well as ensure 1 step to qualify for the next phase because if in the first leg they again have to lose even with the same aggregate goals as in matchday 8 it will be a little difficult for them.
Benfica now have the upper hand because they managed to win before but I am still very confident that Madrid will succeed in qualifying in the play off phase this time.

[BRINIRHA]

Like you said it's football so they will battle it out again and the better team of course will get the ticket to the next round but one thing is certain though and that's the fact that Real Madrid wouldn't like to loose out to benfica again for the second time so it would certainly be interesting if the clash was to feature again and we all will be in for a lot of goals indeed.

Madrid certainly does not want to suffer a second defeat against Benfica. But the problem is, if Benfica manages to win again, I am sure the media will continue to make it a hot topic. It could even lead to another change of coach.  

However, I am confident that Real madrid will win and advance to the next stage. it would be very embarrassing to lose to Benfica despite the striking difference in squad depth. Although Benfica also has several good players, they are no match for the depth of Real Madrid's squad.

[programmer3666]

For any neutral fan, this is undoubtedly the most captivating matchup of the draw. i am sure Real Madrid wants revenge so bad. But even if Real Madrid wins, Benfica is the winner for me unless the goalkeeper scores a goal  

This is where benfica will get knocked out of the Champions League, this time around they can't beat Real Madrid, my prediction is that Real Madrid will win both legs, home and away. If Benfica feel relaxed because they defeated Barcelona with the whole internet hype because the goalkeeper scored a goal in the match, that is exactly where the failure begins, Real Madrid only need the first leg to decide their qualification to the next round.

The kind of joke Real Madrid has become is just baffling. How can a club dominated by so many quality players be so disjointed in terms of style of play and cordination, Ordinarily Benfica shouldn't have had such a good result against Madrid but the players have become such a spoilt categories of lads that they don't play football with passion any longer and I feel they are being given so much latitude on that by the management.

[AakZaki]

For any neutral fan, this is undoubtedly the most captivating matchup of the draw. i am sure Real Madrid wants revenge so bad. But even if Real Madrid wins, Benfica is the winner for me unless the goalkeeper scores a goal  

You are exaggerating too much and it is just the assumption of Bancelona fans as I see on social media. Real Madrid are a big team, When they lose Barcelona fans always scream.
The so-called football match, yes whoever qualifies for the next round is the winner.

-snip-

Deep down, I want them to face Real Madrid again .. I hope they madrid make it to the Round of 16.

I also hope so, I'm sure Real Madrid won't repeat the same mistake in the next game. Considering Mbappe's goal, it will be a pity if Real Madrid does not qualify for the last 16.

[Mate2237]

For any neutral fan, this is undoubtedly the most captivating matchup of the draw. i am sure Real Madrid wants revenge so bad. But even if Real Madrid wins, Benfica is the winner for me unless the goalkeeper scores a goal  

Snip

The kind of joke Real Madrid has become is just baffling. How can a club dominated by so many quality players be so disjointed in terms of style of play and cordination, Ordinarily Benfica shouldn't have had such a good result against Madrid but the players have become such a spoilt categories of lads that they don't play football with passion any longer and I feel they are being given so much latitude on that by the management.

This is what happens when a team don't play as a unit and this has been greatly affected by the constant changes in management which Madrid has experience. We can't remove the place of tactics and technical input which the coach has on the team.madrid is undergoing another managerial change and this will also show in the way that the team plays so am not personal surprised about the results that Madrid put on against Benfica.



It's really unfortunate that a team like Madrid which has so many Balloon Dior favorite has to go through the playoffs. Madrid should wake up from this slumber because this position they find themselves doesn't fit them.