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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 live score

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

19th min: Chance, Real Madrid! The first true opportunity of the match for either side sees Vinicius Jr. fire just wide! A high-quality chance goes begging after a beautiful bit of build-up sees the Brazilian take aim from eight yards out but miss wide left!

12th min: Benfica are sitting in a rigid 4-4-2 mid block that has been difficult for Real Madrid to break down. A whole lot of empty possession for the visitors so far into the match.

6th min: Vinicius Jr. is mugged just out top of the Benfica penalty area, dragged down by his shoulders as he attempted to back down Amar Dedic. The French referee is letting them play early on here.

Kickoff: They’re under way in the Portuguese capital! Real Madrid have not been this beatable in European competition for quite some time, having failed to win six of their last 11 games in the Champions League. Can they turn around their fortunes in the world’s greatest annual club competition?

11 – Across their last 11 matches in the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid have lost more often (6) than they have won (5). Prior to these last 11, their previous six defeats in the competition came over a span of 39 matches (between April 2022 and March 2025). Calm. pic.twitter.com/40dSuNIvv6

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 17, 2026

Benfica vs. Real Madrid: Pre-match commentary, analysis, more

15 mins to kickoff: When searching for how Real Madrid have changed since Alvaro Arbeloa took over, one must look only so far as his answer to a question back in February about how he leads the star-laded dressing room which seemed to perplex Xabi Alonso.

“I can’t go against the players’ nature,” Arbeloa said. “Quite the opposite. I have to try to take advantage of it. We have many players who are very dominant in space and fast, and who tend to make good decisions.”

While Alonso attempted to coach the team with film study, tactical instructions, and pragmatism, Arbeloa has harkened back to what made Carlo Ancelotti successful at the Bernabeu: freedom. After a shaky start, Madrid have won six of eight matches under Arbeloa’s lead, and the hallmark of the former Blanco’s leadership has been flexibility and player control. We’ll see if that gives them a boost against a former Madrid manager in Mourinho who engineered a clear victory a few weeks prior.

30 mins to kickoff: If you need a refresher on the madness that ensued last time these two teams met…

Benfica were leading 3-2 heading into the final passage of play. Teetering on the edge of Champions League elimination, they were already positioned to secure the three points they required to reach the knockout stage, but were still just out of the field on goal differential.

That was when goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin came up for a last-gasp free-kick, and he managed to put home the all-important goal that secured a playoff position for the Portuguese club.

🤯 Benfica and Real Madrid meet again!#UCL pic.twitter.com/3e9tbV9tma

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 17, 2026

45 mins to kickoff: There have been questions about the fitness of Kylian Mbappe since he suffered a knee injury back in early January which has since caused him to be rested by Alvaro Arbeloa at various points.

There were some questions whether Mbappe would be available today after he was declared fully fit by Arbeloa before this weekend’s match, only to be held out of the squad entirely, but in the end he’s ready to go from the start.

The Frenchman leads the European tournament in goal scoring, and is so far ahead that he’s chasing a famous Champions League record held by a former Real Madrid legend…

Kylian Mbappé with 13 Champions League goals so far this season is closing in on a Cristiano Ronaldo’s 17 goal record ⚽👀 pic.twitter.com/Efp1a2x9Mp

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 17, 2026

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:

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: