| It was surely the most memorable moment of the final matchday of the Champions League group stage when Benfica were leading record holders Real Madrid 3-2 and were playing for time, unaware that they needed a two-goal victory to overtake Marseille for 24th place and secure the last ticket to the knockout phase. Then came the news with stoppage time expired, the Portuguese had won a free kick, goalkeeper Trubin came forward, and the rest is history. Now the two teams meet again in the playoffs, which Real Madrid due to that very defeat are reluctantly forced to participate in. The fact that the record Champions League winners have to take the long route via the playoffs to reach the round of 16 was another bitter setback for Real Madrid, who had already been eliminated from the Copa del Rey by a second division team in January. Aside from that, however, things aren't actually that bad for Los Blancos, who currently lead LaLiga and have won all of their last eight league matches and according to the bookies they are once again favourites to win this clash at Estadio da Luz. |
