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Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were surprisingly dumped into the Champions League knockout playoffs. Real Madrid fell after a dramatic last-gasp goal by Benfica's goalkeeper, while PSG's draw sent them down the standings. Both teams will now face a tougher path to the final.
Real Madrid was stunningly dumped into the knockout playoffs of the Champions League by its former coach Jose Mourinho - whose Benfica team advanced on a last-gasp goal by its goalkeeper - on Wednesday and will be joined there by title holder Paris Saint-Germain.
Madrid started play third in the 36-team standings and despite two goals by Kylian Mbappe lost 4-2 at Benfica and fell to ninth - one place below advancing direct to the round of 16.
Astonishingly, Benfica only advanced to the knockout phase in 24th place on goal difference because Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time with a dramatic header when Madrid was down to nine players. Red cards were shown minutes earlier for Raul Asencio and Rodrygo.
"This victory is historic and important," Mourinho said, adding of his goalkeeper: "We knew that he could do it. You have to put the ball there, but it's an amazing goal for the guy."
Trubin said it was a "crazy moment. I'm not used to scoring. I'm 24 years old and it's the first time."
Madrid fell out of the top-eight places when Sporting Lisbon got a stoppage-time goal in a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao.
"They have outplayed us," Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said of Benfica. "We've been far from the version we should be."
Sporting surprisingly joined Liverpool - which beat Qarabag 6-0 and got a goal from Mohamed Salah - Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City in sealing top-eight finishes. Table-topping Arsenal, which completed a perfect eight-win program beating Kairat Almaty 3-2, and second-place Bayern Munich had already advanced to the round of 16 that starts in March.
PSG falls
======
PSG and Newcastle both started in the top eight but drew 1-1 in Paris which sent both falling in the standings to 11th and 12th. The game had an explosive start when Newcastle conceded a penalty for a handball in the first minute, and Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele's spot-kick was saved by Nick Pope.
Madrid, PSG, Newcastle and last year's beaten finalist Inter Milan all will be in the qualifying playoffs draw Friday for teams that placed ninth through 24th.
Still, PSG went through the playoffs round a year ago in taking the longest path possible with two extra games in February toward its first European title.
"We don't have to think about it too much," said Vitinha, who gave PSG an eighth-minute lead. "We had the same problem last year, and then out of nowhere things changed and the ball started to go in."
Mourinho-Madrid again?
===============
There is a 50-50 chance it will be Mourinho's Benfica against Real Madrid and Mbappe two more times next month.
The bracket for the playoffs means the ninth-place team, Madrid, can be drawn only against the team that placed either 23rd or 24th. That is, respectively, Bodo/Glimt or Benfica.
If Benfica is not paired with Madrid, then it will be the 10th-place team, Inter Milan - whom Mourinho led to the 2010 Champions League title. It is a remarkable renaissance for Mourinho, who lost his job at Fenerbahce in August for losing in the Champions League qualifying playoffs. Against Benfica.
Bodo/Glimt advances
=============
Norwegian debutant Bodo/Glimt will be a popular addition to the knockout phase, claiming 23rd place by winning 2-1 at Atletico Madrid. That showed how crucial it was to beat Man City last week inside its Arctic Circle home.
Benfica's late drama eliminated Marseille, which lost 3-0 at Club Brugge and dropped below the cutoff into 25th place with nine points.
Also in the playoffs are Qarabag, Brugge, Galatasaray and Olympiakos, plus Juventus and Atalanta from Italy.
Italian champion Napoli was ousted in 30th place after losing 3-2 at home to Chelsea.
Barcelona's turnaround
==============
At halftime Wednesday, the in-play standings showed Chelsea in 12th and Barcelona 13th, both heading for the playoffs.
Barcelona was trailing at home to lowly Copenhagen, whose goal was scored by 17-year-old Icelandic striker Viktor Dadason, who scored three times in his debut Champions League season.
Barcelona flipped the game in the second half of a 4-1 win with goals from a stellar forward line: Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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