Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid: Mourinho´s side alive as visitors drop into play-offs after thriller

Real Madrid missed out on automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16 as Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s stoppage-time goal miraculously kept them in the competition with a 4-2 win.

Jose Mourinho came back to haunt former club as a European classic saw Benfica clinch the final position in the knockout-stage play-off round in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Needing one more goal to overtake Marseille on goal difference, Trubin produced a diving header from Fredrik Aursnes’ free-kick to send the Estadio da Luz into bedlam in the 98th minute.

Madrid, who were reduced to nine men late on, have to settle for the play-offs after Sporting CP’s late winner against Athletic Club.

1 – Anatoliy Trubin has become the first goalkeeper ever to score against Real Madrid in any European competition. Progressed.#BenficaMadrid #Benfica #ChampionsLeague2026 pic.twitter.com/Iuxl3FnYaL

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 28, 2026

Having seen Thibaut Courtois tip Gianluca Prestianni’s effort onto the crossbar and Heorhii Sudakov strike the woodwork early on, Madrid struck first on the half-hour mark.

Raul Asencio delivered for Mbappe to powerfully head home his 12th Champions League goal this campaign – the most by any player in the group or league phase in the competition’s history.

However, Andreas Schjelderup headed in a 36th-minute leveller following a cross from Vangelis Pavlidis, who then converted from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time after Aurelien Tchouameni dragged down Nicolas Otamendi.

Matters worsened for Madrid when Pavlidis offloaded for Schjelderup to hammer past Courtois, but Mbappe reduced the deficit with a first-time finish four minutes later from Arda Guler’s cutback.

Another brilliant Courtois stop denied Leandro Barreiro and Trubin thwarted Mbappe at the other end, before Madrid duo Asencio and Rodrygo were dismissed in stoppage time.

With a two-man advantage late on, Trubin’s heroics kept Mourinho’s side alive in the competition, and Madrid could now face an immediate rematch against Benfica in the play-offs. Their other potential opponents are Bodo/Glimt.

Data Debrief: Mbappe’s history-making goals prove fruitless

Scoring his 12th and 13th goals in the league phase this season, Mbappe surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo (11 in 2015-16) for the most goals in a single Champions League group-stage campaign.

His 13 goals in seven Champions League games this season also saw him equal Ronaldo with Madrid in 2013-14 and Robert Lewandowski with Bayern Munich in 2019-20 for the most goals by a player in the first seven games of one edition.

But the France superstar’s heroics proved no match for the collective effort of Mourinho’s hearty Benfica, who will feel they deserved the victory after accumulating 2.99 expected goals (xG) to Madrid’s 1.5.