The draw for the Champions League playoffs, held this Friday (30), defined a particularly attractive clash: Real Madrid will once again face Benfica, led by their former coach José Mourinho, to whom they lost on Wednesday (28), in the last round of the group stage.
The 4-2 defeat in Lisbon prevented Real Madrid from qualifying directly for the round of 16 and forced them to compete in the playoff, which Benfica reached in spectacular fashion thanks to a goal from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in the 98th minute. The goal allowed the team to rise from 25th to 24th in the table, by goal difference, narrowly avoiding elimination.
The new confrontation will allow Real Madrid to seek revenge after a match that reignited tensions around the club, even causing a public outburst from its star player, Kylian Mbappé.
The future of coach Álvaro Arbeloa, who took over at the beginning of the month from Xabi Alonso, could also largely depend on the team’s performance in the Champions League, a competition in which Real Madrid dominates the record books with 15 titles.
Based on their final position in the first phase classification, Real Madrid knew that their potential opponents in the playoffs were Benfica or Bodø/Glimt, a Norwegian team located north of the Arctic Circle, which ended up being drawn against Inter Milan, the current runner-up of the tournament.
The dispute will also include a French classic between PSG and Monaco
As for the current champions, PSG (Paris Saint-Germain), fate has placed them against a well-known French Championship opponent, Monaco.
The Principality team is on a terrible run of results, but on November 29th it managed a 1-0 victory against the Parisian team in a match valid for Ligue 1 (the French Championship).
PSG only needed a win to guarantee a place in the top eight in the final round of the group stage, but could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against Newcastle and dropped to 11th place.
The other playoff games will be Qarabag x Newcastle; Galatasaray x Juventus; Club Brugge x Atlético de Madrid; Borussia Dortmund x Atalanta; and Olympiacos x Bayer Leverkusen.
The first games will be played between February 17th and 18th, and the return games a week later, on February 24th and 25th.
The eight playoff winners will join the top eight from the Champions group stage in the round of 16.
The round of 16 on the horizon
This Friday’s draw defined a bracket for the competition in the style of tennis tournaments, and it is already known that, if they win, PSG will face a potentially explosive clash in the round of 16, against Lamine Yamal’s Barcelona or Chelsea, their tormentors in last year’s Club World Cup final.
The other alternative opponent in the round of 16 for Barça and Chelsea would be less demanding, the winner of the duel between Newcastle and Qarabag.
Meanwhile, if Real Madrid defeat Benfica, they will face either Manchester City or another Lisbon team, Sporting Lisbon, in the round of 16.
The draw for the Europa League playoffs also took place this Friday in Nyon.
Lyon, Aston Villa, Porto, Roma and Betis were among the teams that qualified directly for the round of 16, so they will not need to compete in the playoffs.
Celta Vigo, from Spain, will have to compete in the playoffs, where they will face PAOK Thessaloniki, from Greece.
Champions League playoff clashes
Real Madrid x Benfica
PSG x Monaco
Atalanta x Borussia Dortmund
Bayer Leverkusen x Olympiacos
Juventus x Galatasaray
Atlético de Madrid x Club Brugge
Newcastle x Qarabag
Inter de Milão x Bodø/Glimt
Europa League playoff clashes
Dinamo Zagreb x Genk
Brann x Bologna
Ludogorets x Ferencvaros
Celtic x Stuttgart
Panathinaikos x Viktoria Plzen
Fenerbahçe x Nottingham Forest
PAOK x Celta Vigo
Lille x Red Star
