Mourinho’s Benfica drag Real Madrid with them to Champions League playoffs

Benfica beat Real 4-2 which sends both teams into Champions League playoffs, as Madrid miss out on top eight.Published On 28 Jan 2026Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored an astonishing 98th-minute header as Benfica beat Real Madrid 4-2 to keep themselves in the Champions League and deny their illustrious opponents an automatic spot in the last 16.In an extraordinary finale on Wednesday, the Portuguese side were ⁠heading out despite leading 3-2 with seconds of stoppage time remaining before Trubin came forward for a free ​kick to score the goal needed to sneak into the playoff round on goal ‍difference.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Boxing: Fury to return to the ring against Makhmudov in Aprillist 2 of 4Why is Pakistan backing Bangladesh in its T20 World Cup row with India?list 3 of 4Milan mayor blasts ICE as ‘militia that kills’ before Winter Olympics rolelist 4 of 4‘I didn’t set out to break records’: Pakistan’s first female MMA fighterend of listThat sparked wild celebrations from Benfica players, fans and their charismatic coach Jose Mourinho – a former manager of Real Madrid – at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon.The Spaniards had hoped to finish in the top eight and go straight into the ‍last 16, but ⁠their 15 points from eight games were not enough, and they finished the match with nine men as Raul Asencio and Rodrygo were sent off.Andreas Schjelderup scored two goals for Benfica and Vangelis Pavlidis netted from the penalty spot, while Kylian Mbappe netted twice for Real in a hugely entertaining, end-to-end contest.Benfica advance at the expense of Marseille, who lost 3-0 at Club Brugge. The giant screen in the stadium in Belgium congratulated both teams for advancing to the ​next stage, but that proved premature as Trubin turned the tables.Both Benfica ‌and Real needed a goal for different reasons going into the final minutes, and it is a vindication of the competition’s format that a single goal could have such a dramatic effect on the table.Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin of Benfica scores his team’s fourth goal with a header [Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images]Benfica were denied two strong early penalty shots, ‌and Real took the lead on 30 minutes against the run of play when Asencio’s cross to the back post was headed in by Mbappe.