Real Madrid was defeated by former coach Jose Mourinho in the Champions League in an unimaginable way, when Benfica won the right to advance thanks to a late goal from the goalkeeper. This result also caused Real Madrid to enter a risky play-off round.
Real Madrid started the final round with third place in the 36-team standings. However, despite Kylian Mbappe scoring a double, the Royal Spanish team still lost to Benfica 2-4 and dropped to ninth place, one place behind the group that directly qualified for the round of 16.
What is surprising is that Benfica only advanced to 24th place thanks to goal difference. Mourinho's team got a valuable ticket thanks to goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin's header in the eighth minute of injury time, in the context that Real Madrid only had 9 people on the field. A few minutes earlier, Raul Asencio and Rodrygo respectively received red cards.
Real Madrid dropped out of the top 8 after Sporting CP scored in injury time in a 3-2 victory at Athletic Bilbao stadium.
Sporting unexpectedly broke into the group of 8 strongest teams along with Liverpool (winning Qarabag 6-0), Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City. Top team Arsenal extended their winning streak with a 3-2 victory over Kairat Almaty to reach the milestone of 8 consecutive wins, while Bayern Munich ranked second and also won a direct ticket to the round of 16, expected to start in March.
PSG and Newcastle both started the round in the top 8 but drew 1-1 in Paris, causing both to fall to 11th and 12th positions.
Real Madrid, PSG, Newcastle and Inter Milan will participate in the play-off draw for teams ranked from 9 to 24, taking place on Friday.
Notably, PSG last season had to go "round-robin" with 2 play-offs to nurture the dream of conquering the first European title.
The small team Bodo/Glimt also made a mark when they won 23rd place thanks to a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid. This result further shows the meaning of their defeat to Man City at home last week.
Other teams participating in the play-off round include Qarabag, Brugge, Galatasaray, Olympiakos, along with Juventus and Atalanta of Italy.
Serie A defending champion Napoli was pushed down to 30th place after losing to Chelsea 2-3 at home.
- List of teams directly into the round of 16: Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting, Man City.
- List of teams to play play-offs: Real Madrid, Inter, PSG, Newcastle, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Leverkusen, Dortmund, Olympiacos, Club Brugge, Galatasaray, Monaco, Qarabag, Bodo/Glimt, Benfica.
