Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Real Madrid were defeated in Lisbon by Benfica to finish ninth and will have to face a play-off to reach the last 16 of the Champions League against Benfica. Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s sensational 98th-minute header earned Benfica a place in the knockout phase play-offs.
The Eagles looked set to miss out despite recovering from 1-0 down to open up a 3-1 lead thanks to two goals from Andreas Schjelderup either side of Vangelis Pavlidis’ penalty.
Kylian Mbappe’s second of the game – his 13th league phase goal setting a new record – pushed them out of the top 24 and there they remained until Jose Mourinho ordered Trubin forward and, against opponents suddenly down to nine men, the Ukrainian delivered the telling blow. The league phase concluded in thrilling style with 18 simultaneous kick-offs, as Barcelona and Sporting CP secured top-eight positions alongside Bayern and five English teams.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s last-gasp header sensationally earned Benfica a place in the knockout phase play-offs. Sporting secured a top-eight finish following Alisson Santos’ dramatic winner in Bilbao.
The visitors twice pegged back their opponents at San Mames, where Ousmane Diomande and Francisco Trincao cancelled out efforts from Oihan Sancet and Gorka Guruzeta, respectively. Then, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Santos drilled a last-gasp winner beyond Unai Simon, who had kept out Luis Suarez’s initial attempt.
