Agency, Jan 29: Portuguese club Benfica have secured a place in the UEFA Champions League playoffs after a thrilling 4–2 victory over Spanish giants Real Madrid in the final league-stage match on Wednesday night.
Playing at home in Lisbon, Benfica took full advantage after Madrid were reduced to nine men late in the match. Andreas Schjelderup starred for the hosts with two goals, while Vangelis Pavlidis and goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin added one goal each. For Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé scored both goals.
Madrid made a strong start when Mbappé opened the scoring in the 30th minute, finishing a cross from Raul Asensio to give the visitors an early lead. Benfica responded six minutes later as Schjelderup found the net to level the score at 1–1.
In first-half stoppage time, Pavlidis scored to put Benfica 2–1 ahead at the break. Schjelderup doubled Benfica’s advantage in the 54th minute with his second goal of the night. Madrid pulled one back in the 58th minute when Mbappé converted Arda Güler’s assist to make it 3–2.
The match turned decisively in injury time. Raul Asensio was shown a red card in the second minute of stoppage time, and five minutes later Rodrygo also received a red card, leaving Real Madrid with just nine players. Benfica capitalized immediately, as goalkeeper Trubin scored with a header to seal a dramatic 4–2 victory and confirm their playoff qualification.
With the win, Benfica finish 24th in the standings with nine points from eight matches to claim a playoff spot. Real Madrid, despite the defeat, end the league stage ninth with 15 points.
