Benfica vs. Real Madrid live score: Champions League result, updates, stats from knockout playoff first leg
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The new Champions League format has served up a banger in the knockout playoff round as Real Madrid look for revenge against Jose Mourinho and Benfica in the first leg from Lisbon.
Mourinho engineered a 4-2 win at this same venue three weeks ago that saw Benfica dramatically qualify for the knockout stage on a goal with the very last kick of the match.
Madrid have rattled off three consecutive wins in La Liga play since that Champions League defeat, seeing them climb back into the lead for the domestic title race.
Benfica, meanwhile, are third in their league table, three points back of second-placed Sporting and seven behind leaders Porto.
MORE: Possible knockout opponents for all Champions League playoff participants
The Sporting News is following the Benfica vs. Real Madrid match live, providing score updates, commentary, and analysis.
Benfica vs. Real Madrid score
| Score (Pregame) | Goalscorers | |
| Benfica | – | – |
| Real Madrid | – | – |
Location: Estadio da Luz (Lisbon, Portugal)
Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA)
Starting lineups:
Benfica (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Trubin (GK) — 17. Dedic, 44. Araujo, 30. Otamendi, 26. Dahl — 18. Barreiro, 8. Aursnes — 25. Prestianni, 27. R. Silva, 21. Schjelderup — 14. Pavlidis.
Real Madrid (4-4-2, right to left): 1. Courtois (GK) — 12. Alexander-Arnold, 22. Rudiger, 24. Huijsen, 18. Carreras — 8. Valverde, 15. Guler, 14. Tchouameni, 6. Camavinga — 7. Vinicius, 10. Mbappe.
Benfica vs. Real Madrid live updates, highlights from Champions League
1 hour to kickoff: Lineups are in! Alvaro Arbeloa has kept his XI the same as from the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad over the weekend that saw them go top of the league, with the exception of Kylian Mbappe who returns to the starting lineup in place of Gonzalo Garcia.
The only change for Jose Mourinho from the league phase finale sees 32-year-old Rafa Silva come in at the No. 10 position, with Georgiy Sudakov sent to the bench.
1 hour 30 mins to kick: With their appearance in the playoff round, Jose Mourinho has become the first manager ever to take charge of seven different clubs to the knockout stages of the Champions League. He has done so with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, and now Benfica.
Quite the accomplishment! He beats Carlo Ancelotti to the mark, after the Italian reached this level with Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. Ancelotti just misses out on a technicality, as he brought Napoli successfully through the 2019/20 group stage, but was sacked before he could manage the club in their Round of 16 fixture.
2 hours to kickoff: Benfica have looked to motivate the squad — and demoralise their opponents — by placing a photo of goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin celebrating his goal against Real Madrid in the tunnel ahead of the match.
Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa was asked about this ahead of the game, and he played down the incident, but you can imagine that this would cause some increased animosity between the sides throughout the 90 minutes today, which might work in Benfica’s favour.
Reporter: “They’ve placed a photo of Benfica goalkeeper Trubin celebrating his goal at the locker room. Is it psychological warfare? Did you notice it?”
Arbeloa: “I think it will be a new beginning for us, we start from scratch, and that’s what we want. We have a very… pic.twitter.com/3Vt7deHVN1
— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) February 16, 2026
Benfica vs. Real Madrid kick off time
This Champions League knockout playoff first leg kicks off from Estadio da Luz on Tuesday, February 17 at 9 p.m. local time in Lisbon, Portugal. Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA/Canada | Tue, Feb. 17 | 3 p.m. ET |
| USA/Canada | Tue, Feb. 17 | 12 p.m. PT |
| UK | Tue, Feb. 17 | 8 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Wed, Feb. 18 | 7 a.m. AEST |
| India | Wed, Feb. 18 | 1:30 a.m. IST |
Benfica vs. Real Madrid lineups, team news
The only issues for Jose Mourinho to work around in the Benfica squad are the absences of young Joao Veloso and backup goalkeeper Samuel Soares. Otherwise, he has his entire dressing room to pick from, and likely won’t deviate much from the team that beat Real Madrid a few weeks prior.
Benfica starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Trubin (GK) — Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl — Barreiro, Aursnes — Prestianni, R. Silva, Schjelderup — Pavlidis.
Benfica subs: Ferreira (GK), Bah, A. Silva, Barrenechea, Sudakov, M. Silva, Rios, S. Cabral, A. Cabral, Bruma, Lukebakio, Ivanovic.
Real Madrid are missing Rodrygo who is recovering from a minor hamstring injury in late January, just as he was getting hot. Jude Bellingham is also absent with a hamstring injury of his own which is expected to keep him out through the March international break.
At the back, Eder Militao also has a hamstring injury, while Ferland Mendy has missed nearly the entire season with a muscle problem. Raul Asencio is suspended after picking up a red card in the league phase finale.
Real Madrid starting lineup (4-4-2): Courtois (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras — Valverde, Guler, Tchouameni, Camavinga — Vinicius, Mbappe.
Real Madrid subs: Lunin (GK), Carvajal, Alaba, Mendy, J. Martinez, F. Garcia, Cestero, Thiago, Ceballos, Mastantuono, B. Diaz, G. Garcia.
Benfica vs. Real Madrid live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | TUDN, Univision | Paramount+, Fubo |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK | — | Amazon Prime |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| India | Sony TEN 2, 3, 4 | Sony LIV |
