Benfica vs. Real Madrid live score: Champions League result, updates, stats from knockout playoff first leg

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• Benfica vs. Real Madrid score
• Benfica vs. Real Madrid latest updates and highlights
• Starting lineups and team news
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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.

The Sporting News is following the Benfica vs. Real Madrid match live, providing score updates, commentary, and analysis.

Benfica vs. Real Madrid score

Location: Estadio da Luz (Lisbon, Portugal)
Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA)

Starting lineups (predicted):

Benfica (4-2-3-1, right to left): Trubin (GK) — Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl — Barreiro, Aursnes — Prestianni, Sudakov, Schjelderup — Pavlidis.

Real Madrid (4-4-2, right to left): Courtois (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras — Valverde, Guler, Tchouameni, Camavinga — Vinicius, Mbappe.

Benfica vs. Real Madrid live updates, highlights from Champions League

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.

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 projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Trubin (GK) — Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl — Barreiro, Aursnes — Prestianni, Sudakov, Schjelderup — Pavlidis.

Benfica subs: (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

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 projected starting lineup (4-4-2): Courtois (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras — Valverde, Guler, Tchouameni, Camavinga — Vinicius, Mbappe.

Real Madrid subs: (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

Benfica vs. Real Madrid live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions: