Real Madrid handed tough UEFA Champions League draw against Benfica, the team that consigned them to the playoffs.
Real Madrid must face their former manager Jose Mourinho again after being drawn with Benfica in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) playoff round, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain will face domestic rivals Monaco.
In a dramatic finale to the league phase of this year’s competition, Mourinho’s Benfica beat the Spanish giants 4-2 with a last-minute header from the Portuguese club’s keeper Anatoliy Trubin, sealing their place in the knockout rounds.
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The defeat for Real meant they slipped out of the automatic qualifying positions for the round of 16 and were forced into the extra knockout phase.
The top eight teams from the league phase moved straight to the last 16, but the following 16 finishers will now play two-legged playoffs to qualify for that round.
UCL victory against Real Madrid sealed Benfica’s recent revival
Benfica were mired in the bottom 12 positions, which resulted in elimination from the competition, until their last-gasp fourth by Trubin improved their goal difference to move them into the playoff spots.
The two-time winners from Portugal’s remarkable recovery to take a playoff place – they finished 24th in the 36-team league phase, the last qualifying spot – were not only encapsulated by the defeat of Real but by winning three of their last four matches after losing their opening four games.
Benfica coach Jose Mourinho was all smiles for the match against Real Madrid in Lisbon [Pedro Rocha/Reuters]
Mourinho, 63, returned to the Lisbon giants for a second spell as coach in September. He was in charge of Real from 2010 to 2013 and won one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey while also taking them to the Champions League semifinals in each of his three campaigns.
The clubs played each other in the 1962 European Cup final, with Benfica winning 5-3 to claim back-to-back titles, having beaten Barcelona the previous year.
PSG handed all-French affair with Monaco
PSG slipped out of the top eight after winning only one of their last five outings in the league phase and finishing in 11th place with their 1-1 draw in their final game against Newcastle United.
The Parisians will go to Monaco for the first leg and will be wary of the principality side, who beat them there in Ligue 1 in November.
However, 2004 Champions League finalists Monaco have been in poor form, with just one win in six games since the turn of the year.
It was a glum evening on Wednesday for Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique as the Champions League holders missed out on automatic qualification for the last 16 [Benoit Tessier/Reuters]
Monaco are 10th in Ligue 1, 21 points behind leaders PSG. However, a 0-0 draw with Juventus on Wednesday allowed them to secure a playoff place in Europe.
PSG also beat French opposition in the playoff round last season, hammering Brest 10-0 on aggregate before going on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Newcastle and Inter made favourites in playoffs, but Juventus and Atletico have tough tasks
Elsewhere, Newcastle United will be strong favourites against surprise packages Qarabag of Azerbaijan, with the first leg to come in Baku.
Bodo/Glimt, Norwegian champions in four of the last six years, were also surprise qualifiers for this stage and have been rewarded with a tie against last season’s runners-up Inter Milan.
Juventus will take on Galatasaray, while Atletico Madrid face Club Brugge. Borussia Dortmund play Atalanta, and Bayer Leverkusen were drawn against Olympiacos.
When will the Champions League playoffs be played?
The two-legged playoff ties will take place in February, with the winners advancing to the last 16 in March.
When will the Champions League knockouts and final be played?
The two legs of the round of 16 will be played on March 10-11 and March 17-18.
After the quarterfinals and semifinals, the finale of this season’s Champions League will be staged at Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary. The game will be played on May 30.
