UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[m4r1o]

Benfica isn't a small team that you said they can't win Real Madrid, and besides Real Madrid currently is not in their best of form this season so the probability of them winning is even there compared to before. Any team that made it to the champions League and even to the round of 16 can't be underestimated, and I'm not doing so when it comes to Benfica and Real Madrid game.

I would say above all that the coach who coaches Benfica is a person with enormous experience and enormous strategy, both on and off the pitch.
Let's not beat around the bush, he are achieving these results thanks to him, precisely because he knows how to strategically deploy a team to get them to give their all.

[Not your key not your BTC]

Benfica isn't a small team that you said they can't win Real Madrid, and besides Real Madrid currently is not in their best of form this season so the probability of them winning is even there compared to before. Any team that made it to the champions League and even to the round of 16 can't be underestimated, and I'm not doing so when it comes to Benfica and Real Madrid game.

I would say above all that the coach who coaches Benfica is a person with enormous experience and enormous strategy, both on and off the pitch.
Let's not beat around the bush, he are achieving these results thanks to him, precisely because he knows how to strategically deploy a team to get them to give their all.

No one doubts Mourinho's abilities, as he is one of the best coaches in the world. In fact, every club Mourinho coaches has won trophies. Benfica is likely to win the first leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid because, in addition to playing at home, Mourinho is certainly a significant factor. He has been able to improve Benfica's performance and understands Real Madrid's game, having previously coached there.

[BlackBoss_]

No one doubts Mourinho's abilities, as he is one of the best coaches in the world. In fact, every club Mourinho coaches has won trophies. Benfica is likely to win the first leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid because, in addition to playing at home, Mourinho is certainly a significant factor. He has been able to improve Benfica's performance and understands Real Madrid's game, having previously coached there.

The first leg will be hosted at Benfica stadium and they will have another advantage when Real Madrid won't have best player resource for that match by red cards (Asencio and Rodrygo). With experience of Jose Mourinho, Benfica will very likely be able take advantage of these things and turn them to a win at their home stadium then can play very defensive at Bernabeu stadium in a second leg.

Arbeloa is a young coach while it seems he does not have great management talent like Xabi Alonso and he will have very little chance of winning against Jose Mourinho in tactical fight between head coaches. He will have to rely to his star players for beating Jose Mourinho and Benfica but I am not optimistic with Arbeloa and Real Madrid's chance at all.

Remember in first meeting between Jose Mourinho and Xabi Alonso in UEFA Europa League semi finals, in a first season of Xabi Alonso with Bayer Leverkusen, he lost to Jose Mourinho and AS Roma. If Xabi Alonso failed, Arbeloa will have less chance to make something different and beat Jose Mourinho even he has many star players in Real Madrid.

[Mame89]

Benfica isn't a small team that you said they can't win Real Madrid, and besides Real Madrid currently is not in their best of form this season so the probability of them winning is even there compared to before. Any team that made it to the champions League and even to the round of 16 can't be underestimated, and I'm not doing so when it comes to Benfica and Real Madrid game.

I would say above all that the coach who coaches Benfica is a person with enormous experience and enormous strategy, both on and off the pitch.
Let's not beat around the bush, he are achieving these results thanks to him, precisely because he knows how to strategically deploy a team to get them to give their all.

No one doubts Mourinho's abilities, as he is one of the best coaches in the world. In fact, every club Mourinho coaches has won trophies. Benfica is likely to win the first leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid because, in addition to playing at home, Mourinho is certainly a significant factor. He has been able to improve Benfica's performance and understands Real Madrid's game, having previously coached there.

Mourinho is indeed a genius coach and there's no doubt about that, especially when the two teams met in the group stage which resulted in a crushing defeat for Real Madrid. Mourinho genius was that he knew that winning alone wouldn't be enough. He knew that Real Madrid players would continue to chase goals in the final minutes, so Mourinho ordered his goalkeeper to go up to score. That goal was crucial because it secured their place in the play-offs.

Now that the two teams are meeting again, I believe Benfica won't be able to beat Real Madrid this time. While Benfica may have a great coach, Real Madrid has the UCL DNA and a star squad capable of delivering when the team needs a win. So, I'm still favoring Real Madrid to advance to the round of 16 even though Benfica beat them in their previous match. Real Madrid is a team that is smart at evaluating what happened previously and they will not allow Benfica to beat them a second time let alone a third time.

[len01]

No one doubts Mourinho's abilities, as he is one of the best coaches in the world. In fact, every club Mourinho coaches has won trophies. Benfica is likely to win the first leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid because, in addition to playing at home, Mourinho is certainly a significant factor. He has been able to improve Benfica's performance and understands Real Madrid's game, having previously coached there.

Even though I don’t want Madrid to lose the first leg, I still agree with your view on this matter. Mourinho really knows Madrid’s playing pattern inside out, and that’s exactly why a loss or even a draw wouldn’t be surprising. His understanding of their system could be a big advantage for Benfica. Unless Arbeloa can fully read whatever tactics and strategy Mourinho prepares, that’s probably the only way to break Benfica’s confidence. But let’s be honest, that sounds quite unlikely.

For the first leg, my only hope is that if Madrid do lose, the aggregate deficit won’t be too big. As long as the gap is manageable, they still have a solid chance to make a comeback in the second leg and eliminate Benfica.

[cande86]

Records are meant to be broken and when a player is good like mbappe there is no doubt that whatever records that is kept will eventually have the time for it to be broken. With the way he has been playing shows that he is no doubt the excellent player that he is and with time coming there would be no chance for most of the records that the two legends hold.

And for the penalty aspect, I don't think teams are just awarded penalties if they didn't force out the tackle from the opponent.

exactly, when you say that records are made to be broken and Mbappe certainly does his part, i think that not in many years will he be one of the best of all, obviously penalties are necessary to have the possibility of scoring many more goals, but the decisions when they are awarded are not always right!

[Chilwell]

Benfica isn't a small team that you said they can't win Real Madrid, and besides Real Madrid currently is not in their best of form this season so the probability of them winning is even there compared to before. Any team that made it to the champions League and even to the round of 16 can't be underestimated, and I'm not doing so when it comes to Benfica and Real Madrid game.

I would say above all that the coach who coaches Benfica is a person with enormous experience and enormous strategy, both on and off the pitch.
Let's not beat around the bush, he are achieving these results thanks to him, precisely because he knows how to strategically deploy a team to get them to give their all.

No one doubts Mourinho's abilities, as he is one of the best coaches in the world. In fact, every club Mourinho coaches has won trophies. Benfica is likely to win the first leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid because, in addition to playing at home, Mourinho is certainly a significant factor. He has been able to improve Benfica's performance and understands Real Madrid's game, having previously coached there.

I keep on asking myself why people are still surprised that Benfica defeated Real Madrid, Mourinho had coached Real Madrid and he know how they play and even though he was not there anymore, he still knows their weak points. He also know how to beat them so for him to win that particular match, it shouldn't be a surprise to us because he always find his way most especially when it's comes to Champions League because he is very good in that competition.

Despite Mourinho was the coach of benfica, at the beginning I don't take them serious since their performance at the early stage of competition is not that strong, I've learned a lot in this particular match, i think everything should play every match as final to avoid this kind of disappointment.

[dollyamo]

While it's important to have bigger name clubs at the later stages, it's also boring that we keep seeing the same names as well. I do not remember the last time we had a small club at the finals let alone win this, and that is why we know that we are going to keep seeing the same names over and over again.

Real Madrid not losing here is good for them, they would rather not lose of course and I get the idea, but that doesn't mean that we can't really enjoy it, sure Madrid fans will, but why would I? But if some small team, like Benfica for example barely got in, and if I see them at finals or something? Or even semi finals, it would be a lot more fun because it would be unexpected and that is where the fun starts.

You can't say, anything is possible, clearly it depends on how the small teams play too.
Is also true that the chances of seeing a small team in the final are really low, but it's inevitable that those who play better will reach the final. There are no shortcuts for any big or small team. I'd add that it's a good opportunity for small teams that have at least managed to finish to demonstrate that they can do it with fewer resources and tenacity.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

I keep on asking myself why people are still surprised that Benfica defeated Real Madrid, Mourinho had coached Real Madrid and he know how they play and even though he was not there anymore, he still knows their weak points. He also know how to beat them so for him to win that particular match, it shouldn't be a surprise to us because he always find his way most especially when it's comes to Champions League because he is very good in that competition.

Despite Mourinho was the coach of benfica, at the beginning I don't take them serious since their performance at the early stage of competition is not that strong, I've learned a lot in this particular match, i think everything should play every match as final to avoid this kind of disappointment.

The good thing is that the match is going to be there soon, and we shall find out if you are right or wrong. Yes, Real Madrid is not having the best of their form but one thing you forget is individual brilliance in the Real Madrid squad

Arbeloa may not have as much experience as Jose Mourinho, but the players can easily take it up themselves and win the match. We has seen this so many times in the Champion's league when all odds were against Real Madrid and I have a feeling it's going to happen again
We shall come back here to discuss it.

[Volgastallion]

I know a lot of people keep talking about Mourinho and how he knew how to beat big teams and that is a partial true, i mean i love him and for me is gonna be always a super coach but take care about that, i mean he is now old and he is not longer among the best coachs in the world he is still a good coach but against the new way of play football the is losing some grip.

[giorgione]

Well teams like Real Madrid are getting awarded very shady penalties that if you take away Mbappe's penalty goals this season his numbers will drop.
I am old school I want to see players have a high number of goals minus penalties and a team like Real Madrid have now taking the art of depending on penalty that they are getting better at diving.
Mbappe is a good player and penalty is a goal but they are getting much.

I see it as a very conspiracy theorist thing, there are certainly some teams that are helped to the detriment of others obviously, but it is not always a given that there is help. i believe that penalties are definitely awarded when there are any, then with the VAR the matches have changed and the refereeing errors are always fewer.

[snipie]

I know a lot of people keep talking about Mourinho and how he knew how to beat big teams and that is a partial true, i mean i love him and for me is gonna be always a super coach but take care about that, i mean he is now old and he is not longer among the best coachs in the world he is still a good coach but against the new way of play football the is losing some grip.

Yeah a lot has changed since Mourinho used to be one of the best coaches in the world. It is true that Benfica victory over Read Madrid was impressive and devastating for Real's fans but it is just a single game. The real challenge is to repeat it and kick definitely Real Madrid from the tournament and obviously win the title. We are pretty much sure that this is something hard to happen and of course winning three times against Real Madrid is something that I can't expect because Benfica is not that convincing in Liga Portugal.

[Chilwell]

I know a lot of people keep talking about Mourinho and how he knew how to beat big teams and that is a partial true, i mean i love him and for me is gonna be always a super coach but take care about that, i mean he is now old and he is not longer among the best coachs in the world he is still a good coach but against the new way of play football the is losing some grip.

I think he has done is on time, he was a great coach which will be forever remember in the history of football, benfica did very well in their last match against Real Madrid but this time around that they will be playing playoff for the round of 16 against the same team that they defeated to qualify for the stage. This is going to be a very difficult match because i don't see any hope for them this time around, I don't consider Real Madrid as any other team that you can beat anyhow, I think by now they should have know that their match against Benfica was an accidental victory for them. In their next matches we will know whether it is accidental or their capable of doing what they have done.

[Princess Leah]

I know a lot of people keep talking about Mourinho and how he knew how to beat big teams and that is a partial true, i mean i love him and for me is gonna be always a super coach but take care about that, i mean he is now old and he is not longer among the best coachs in the world he is still a good coach but against the new way of play football the is losing some grip.

If you hear Mourinho's story and how he got inspired by his dad's misfortune to become a coach and be this great then you'll even love him more, the special one might have some attitude but he's a great coach and have always turned up when he's needed, he's used to be one of the best manager any team could wish for and I miss the good old days when he was the Manager of Chelsea FC.

 Well your last statement is right, football has evolved from the old ways although Mourinho is using his experience to meet up with modern football, but it would be tough to compete with the modern guys currently.

[xzone]

-

I agree, seeing surprise results can be really fun. Benfica's chances of beating Real Madrid are really low; I don't think they can do it. But what if they do? Then that would be truly enjoyable. In the Champions League, the best teams get the best results.
Squad quality isn't that important; sometimes weaker teams can play brilliantly and eliminate their opponents. That's why football is such a beautiful sport

Benfica isn't a small team that you said they can't win Real Madrid, and besides Real Madrid currently is not in their best of form this season so the probability of them winning is even there compared to before. Any team that made it to the champions League and even to the round of 16 can't be underestimated, and I'm not doing so when it comes to Benfica and Real Madrid game.

I think the same thing, I'm not underestimating Benfica. But their chances of winning this match are really low, everyone knows that. As I said, it would be fun to see a surprise result, and teams that have reached the quarter-finals are always dangerous, we shouldn't be saying negative things about any team right now.
They may have won 4-2 against Real Madrid in their last match, but that was a different situation, a last-minute goal and a different story there

[verdinio]

Name a team sport where it is any different than this. it is usually the same suspects depending on how transfer regulations are. I don't know about NBA, but salary caps and stuff have an influence. Since these essentially do not exist in the domestic leagues (FFP doesn't really change anything), you will usually see the same teams for years and years to come out on top. It is a money and reputation question. You could see when Newcastle was a rising star a few years ago, they still had trouble to sign big names. It was not a money problem, but a reputation problem. Great players prefer to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, City.

The last time there was a real surprise was in 2004 when Porto won the Champions League. I doubt we will see something like that anytime soon again. It's crazy how long it took PSG to finally win the title despite their outrageous investments. Smaller clubs can't ever get there.

These things will never happen, financial fair play only works in certain cases and it is certainly not the case in football where teams spend without control and without stopping, i do not think that there is the possibility for certain teams to win if there are these disparities in purchases and capital, the thing is undoubtedly unequal.

[Abu-Naim]

I would say above all that the coach who coaches Benfica is a person with enormous experience and enormous strategy, both on and off the pitch.
Let's not beat around the bush, he are achieving these results thanks to him, precisely because he knows how to strategically deploy a team to get them to give their all.

I will only agree with you because the manager managing Real Madrid right now has less experience and the players are not also in good shape. The coach’s inexperience caused them the defeat of not, they will just find a way to maintain the scoreline to finish the match even if it will end up in a draw than losing the match to Benfica.

Jose Mourinho is an experienced coach, he noticed the lapses in Real Madrid’s team and capitalize on that to get his three points which has helped his team to get to the playoffs stage to face the same Real Madrid.

But this time, I think it will be a different story; even the players will do their best to avoid embarrassment, they will do their best to win the match by all means because they deserve to continue in the round of sixteen.

[Velvet78]

Less than a week left for the Champions League playoff stage.

The first game is going to be Galatasaray - Juventus. A nice game to open this phase.    I thought Galatasaray would be more favoured than this by bookmakers because of playing at home.

But instead they are just showing Juventus closer to win. A much more expensive squad before anything else but it doesn't guarantee any victory though. I think Galatasaray won't lose in the first leg. 1.72 on their double chance looks nice!

[Abbatty]

Benfica isn't a small team that you said they can't win Real Madrid, and besides Real Madrid currently is not in their best of form this season so the probability of them winning is even there compared to before. Any team that made it to the champions League and even to the round of 16 can't be underestimated, and I'm not doing so when it comes to Benfica and Real Madrid game.

I would say above all that the coach who coaches Benfica is a person with enormous experience and enormous strategy, both on and off the pitch.
Let's not beat around the bush, he are achieving these results thanks to him, precisely because he knows how to strategically deploy a team to get them to give their all.

Anybody who is currently underestimating Benfica at this point is just messing around, we have already seen them beat Real Madrid in the champions league this season so what can’t they repeat that. It going to be a game of home and away and maybe that were Real Madrid stand a big chance of qualifying because they are very good at that.

Benfica on the other hand have a very big tool on their hand, they have a very good tactical and experienced coach so in games like his he would be very much important for them. I believe Benfica would create a lot of big problems for Real Madrid and if they are lucky enough they might be able to secure a place in round of 16.

For now I guess the only thing we can do is wait for the match to be played because when you look at it both teams have a huge possibility of going into the next round.

[pewboy]

The trick with UCL is that, the teams that are at the top, "needs" to win in the sense that they are big but they also know that if they fail, they can try next year. Like let's say Real Madrid loses to Benfica, sure that would be terrible for them, but at the same time they know they will be back here next year and hopefully do better, they can fire the coach, maybe sell a few players and get new ones and try again next year. Whereas, teams like Galatasaray for example are rarely ever here, which is very important for them, so they try to do as best as they could when they can.

Precisely for this reason it is a competition to watch, because the pressure on the pitch will be so great, furthermore they will work hard to advance and therefore in theory the teams considered strongest will put on a show.
At the end of the day, football is sport but above all entertainment.
Real Madrid's match against Benfica is one of the most anticipated.