First came José Mourinho’s irritation. With Benfica needing one more goal to advance to the Champions League playoffs, goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin started to wax in the final stretch of the game against Real Madrid, this Wednesday (28), as if ignoring the urgency of his own team.
In the last play of the match, despite the setback, the Portuguese coach decided to bet on the unlikely and sent the number 1 into the area with a free kick.
Within minutes, anger turned to euphoria. With a header, Trubin scored the goal that sealed the Portuguese victory by 4-2 and guaranteed Benfica 24th place in the league phase of the tournament — the last one that guarantees a place in the knockout stages before the round of 16.
Played at the Estádio da Luz, the duel was opened by Kylian Mbappé, 30 minutes into the first half. Andreas Schjelderup equalized at 36. Still in the opening stages, Pavlidis put the home team ahead in stoppage time. After the break, Schjelderup scored again, in the ninth minute, and doubled the score. Four minutes later, Mbappé scored, but it was up to Trubin, in the end, to close the score.
On the other side, Real Madrid were also looking for another goal. A draw would be enough to place them in the top eight and guarantee direct qualification to the round of 16. Unable to react, however, the Spanish team finished in ninth place, just behind Manchester City. Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea and Sporting completed the group of eight directly classified.
Now, Benfica and Real will know their opponents in a draw that will be held on Friday (30), at 8 am (Brasília time).
The two teams return to the field on Sunday, for their national leagues. The Spanish team faces Rayo Vallecano, while the Portuguese team visits Tondela.
Current Champions League champions, PSG were another team that got into trouble in the last round. At home, they only tied with Newcastle, 1-1. With the result, both will have to compete in the play-offs. The French team finished the league phase in 11th, while the England team finished in 12th.
