Having missed out on direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Real Madrid have now learned their opponents for the knockout playoffs.The Merengues finished ninth in the league ph...
Having missed out on direct qualification to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Real Madrid have now learned their opponents for the knockout playoffs.
The Merengues finished ninth in the league phase standings after suffering a shock 4-2 loss to SL Benfica on Wednesday night.
It meant that they would face one of Bodo/Glimt or Benfica, who finished 23rd and 24th in the table respectively, with Jose Mourinho’s men just about eking through thanks to goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s stoppage-time goal.
Now, Real Madrid will face off against Benfica and it will be anything but easy, considering that the Portuguese giants already got the better of them once earlier this week.
Given that Los Blancos were one of the seeded teams heading into the draw, they will play the first leg of the knockout playoffs away from home before hosting their Jose Mourinho & co. at the Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg.
The first leg of the matches will take place on 17-18 February and the second leg will be held on 24-25 February.
If Real Madrid successfully qualify to the Round of 16, the next stage would bring another heavyweight test as they could face one of Sporting CP or Manchester City.
Category: General Sports
