“Miracles exist! ”: Jose Mourinho’s Benfica stun Real Madrid to qualify for the UEFA Champions League playoffs round

Benfica loss led to Real Madrid failing to reach the RO16 of the Champions League directly. (Image credits – Heute, Licence Details)

Jose Mourinho's Benfica left Real Madrid stunned as keeper Anatoly Trubin scored a last-minute goal to seal a 4-2 win and a qualification to the playoffs round of the Champions League.

Heading into the game, it looked almost like an impossible task for the Portuguese giants to qualify for the next round. When the game headed into injury time, the home side were leading by 3-2, but it was not enough, as they were behind on goal difference.

However, they received a free kick, which was the last kick of the game, and Jose Mourinho instructed goalkeeper Trubin to go forward. To everyone's surprise, he banged a sensational header past Thibaut Courtois in goal, and it was followed with sensational scenes erupting at the Estadio da Luz.

Trubin bagged the first goal of his career, and what a moment to get it as well. Mourinho sprinted towards the fans and celebrated as the ball cleared the line.

"A fantastic goal, a historic goal, a goal that nearly brought the whole stadium down - and I think it was very deserved for us," Mourinho said. (sic)

He further added, “For Benfica it's an incredible prestige to beat Real Madrid.” (sic)

However, for Los Blancos, the result was nothing short of a nightmare. Kylian Mbappe and co. were confident of finishing in the top eight and qualifying for the RO16 directly, but this loss left them at the ninth spot with 15 points.

Mbappe slammed his teammates for not showing enough desire to win the game as they crashed to a heavy defeat in Portugal. The Spanish giants would have avoided playing in the knockout playoffs round if they had even drawn the game.

Alvaro Arbeloa set up the same team which thrashed Monaco 6-1, but poor chemistry between the front trio and errors at the back cost them dearly.

“It isn't about quality, and it isn't about tactics. "It's about having more desire than your opponent," said Mbappe in a post-match interview. (sic)

He further added, “You could see that everything was on the line for Benfica, and you couldn't see that for us, and that's a problem. Before the game, both teams had something to play for: us being in the top eight and Benfica being among the 24. We saw it from Benfica, but you didn't see it from us.” (sic)

The fifteen-time Champions League winners have been too inconsistent recently despite showing improvement recently under the new boss. The lack of a midfielder who can control the tempo of the game was clearly visible against Jose Mourinho's side.

The home side deserved the victory, having secured an xG of 3.01 while the visitors had an xG of just 1.50. Thibaut Courtois was brilliant between the sticks yet again; otherwise, things could've got worse for Real Madrid.