UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[EFS]

It has started. I'm going over 1.5 in all matches for today except juventus. You can never fully trust them with goals when you need it. If all goes well I'm treating myself to some pizza.

It was a very good prediction. You got 17 out of 18 matches right. But since the USG - Atalanta match ended 1-0, your entire parlay lost. If you had applied the same logic you used for Juve to Atalanta as well, it would've been a huge winning parlay. Good effort though.

I also thought the cutoff would be 16 points and I got that right. Real Madrid and Inter finished with 15 points and they had to play in the play-off stage. Favorites like PSG and Juve will also play there. But that's not very important. Last year's champions PSG weren't in the top 8 either.
Congratulations to Arsenal for finishing the group stage perfectly. I hope the journey ends with a trophy this time.

[alankasman]

I'm highly disappointed with what Real Madrid did yesterday, honestly they could not be able to hold it even for the last time from the fourth place in their 7th March move down to 9th place in first round. I don't know what is in Benfica that they could not be able to secure Victory in that match. Now they have to play very hard to qualify for the round of 16, I definitely agree with you that Real Madrid has decline both in La Liga and also in Champions League. I hope they will wake up soon since they are still asleep.

This result was actually unexpected by many because the team they faced wasn't as reputable as Real Madrid but that's football anything can happen. However Benfica's result was due to the work of their coach who has more or less track record of Real Madrid's success having coached the team with the most Champions League titles in the competition's history.

Despite the dismissal of Xabi Alonso Real Madrid's playing style is still unstable which is very worrying for their supporters because the opposition they will face in the next round is a team that is very well prepared both mentally and in terms of the strength of the team that each team has. So if Real Madrid's performance is still like it is now I will predict that their journey this season in the UCL competition will not be as smooth as it was during the coaching era of Carlo Ancelotti and Zinédine Zidane where they became the most successful coaches Real Madrid has ever had.

Champions League is different from any other league, arsenal being the best in this round does not guarantee that they will win the trophy, because football is full of surprises, take a look at what happened to Liverpool last season they did absolutely well in the first eight matches of Champions League but they couldn't go anywhere.

That's right the champion isn't the team with the highest points. In the next round teams will only play two matches meaning home and away matches will determine each team's fate in advancing to the next round. Sometimes a team with the most points in the preliminary round will be the first to lose in the next round making them the team that doesn't advance to the next round. Therefore the guideline for the team with the highest points only applies in the preliminary round. Therefore I also agree, as you said Arsenal being the team with the highest points doesn't necessarily mean they will be champions. That's the fierce competition in the UCL, which can be said to be the most prominent in all competitions.

[Baki202]

I don't think the result of the Benfica match should be applied to Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Barcelona. Yesterday was a special match, where a win for Benfica was more important than for Real Madrid. I truly enjoyed watching that match and Benfica's dedication, and Trubin's final goal simply blew my mind. It was something special, matches like this don't happen often. And Real Madrid perhaps underestimated Benfica, that can't be allowed to happen in the Champions League.

And Real Madrid is just a disappointment at times because because they started the game by scoring two goals already and am surpriced that they still lost the game to benfica and this are the same people that they thought had a shot to win the champions league and the way that benfica were playing yesterday i know that they is no way that they woukfd have been able to win this game and i also enjoyed the game even if Real Madrid did not win.

Since we could not watch all the games yesterday we were able to watch the highligt yesterday and there were clubs that i was very unsure about there victory and this is because of how they have been behaving, and i dont think underestimating benfica was the only  problem of real madrid is that they are acting very unserious when ever they are playing there games so they need to do better because a game ending 4:2 is just a dissapointment.

[harapan]

Galatasaray qualified for the play-offs with a draw against Atletico Madrid. Had they lost to Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray would have dropped to 25th place after Trubin's goal yesterday. We saw just how important even a draw was.

I don't know if Mourinho loves football, but football loves Mourinho. We saw that once again yesterday.
From 0 points in the first 4 matches, they earned 9 points with 3 wins in the last 4 matches, and qualified for the play-offs from 24th place.

Good they  sealed their place in the play off rounds. Atletico Madrid could not get a draw against Bodo Glimt even when playing at home.

Jose Mourinho is the real definition of football heritage,  he gets it right at times and last night was on of these nights when it worked for him to seal a place in the play offs. Chelsea Joao Pedro has helped Chelsea last night secure a win. It is another Champions League with Conte struggling to move to the round of sixteen, it shows he needs to upgrade

[verdinio]

Benfica really needed this match and they played as a masterclass team to defeat Real Madrid tonight. This was not how many of us thought the game will end, the game was thrilling though and a perfect example of a champions league game showdown. Five premier league teams made it to the next round without playoffs, this is very superb and a commendable one for those teams representing the English league.

I dont think Galatasaray can do more than what they are still doing and i don't think Juventus are in difficulty from teams like that, if they failed to win yesterday it was just a coincidence i think they were also out of shape, against Napoli they played really well and got pumped.

[Xcode7]

Poor performance from Real Madrid. The game ended beyond expectations and those betting for Real Madrid were slaughtered unfortunately.. They even failed to maintain their position among the first 8 teams. They have now to go through play-offs.
Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United prohibited themselves from qualifying directly with their draw. They have to go together to the play-offs.
Marseille, PSV Eindhoven and Napoli to leave while Benfica booked a ticket to stay is the real joke of the competition because Benfica was really failing but they woke up for good!

I believe that these players are not having a good period and that in any case they are suffering a really bad period and this thing if it does not improve it will be tragic for everyone including the whole team, that goal in any case by Benfica was exceptional, Mourino said that the goalkeeper could score, his words.

The goalkeeper scoring a goal in the final minutes of the match to increase the lead is a very embarrassing thing for Real Madrid in my opinion, but I am not surprised by Real Madrid's defeat because this team is really in a slump, especially with their new coach who has little experience, so I think it is appropriate for Real Madrid's management to make changes again.

[changaa]

And now, the only truly reliable teams in La Liga seem to be Barcelona. Because only Barcelona can directly advance to the next stage without going through the playoffs first.

On such a match the bets for us gamblers were discounted, who knows how many lost their bet though.
A strong team is not an unbeatable team and always gets the result expected even by the bookmakers.
Real Madrid are in the recovery phase, but in this case they have proven the exact opposite.

[wakier]

I don't think the result of the Benfica match should be applied to Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Barcelona. Yesterday was a special match, where a win for Benfica was more important than for Real Madrid. I truly enjoyed watching that match and Benfica's dedication, and Trubin's final goal simply blew my mind. It was something special, matches like this don't happen often. And Real Madrid perhaps underestimated Benfica, that can't be allowed to happen in the Champions League.

Actually the match was equally important for both sides, Real Madrid needed a win to be able to qualify directly to the next round without going through the play off round as well as Benfica who needed 3 points to still have a chance to qualify for the next round through the play off round, luck was on Benfica's side who ultimately beat Real Madrid with an amazing score it was truly an entertaining match, even so Real Madrid is still the favorite in the UCL even though this club is not like Barcelona who qualified directly, but the champion is not only determined by their current position but also who is able to fight until the end.

[BRINIRHA]

Good they  sealed their place in the play off rounds. Atletico Madrid could not get a draw against Bodo Glimt even when playing at home.

Jose Mourinho is the real definition of football heritage,  he gets it right at times and last night was on of these nights when it worked for him to seal a place in the play offs. Chelsea Joao Pedro has helped Chelsea last night secure a win. It is another Champions League with Conte struggling to move to the round of sixteen, it shows he needs to upgrade

Benfica managed to qualify for the playoffs in a way we never expected. I even thought Real Madrid would win the match easily at first. But I forgot that Benfica has an experienced coach whose reputation is beyond doubt. Statistically, Benfica also had the upper hand. For some reason, but it's clear that Real Madrid's current coach is still outmatched tactically by Mourinho. at least it was a good match, even though I'm disappointed with the result.

What I never expected this season was that Napoli would be eliminated so quickly. And another surprise was Tottenham, who had a series of outstanding results in the UCL. This was in stark contrast to their performance in the Premier League.

[fuguebtc]

I don't think the result of the Benfica match should be applied to Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Barcelona. Yesterday was a special match, where a win for Benfica was more important than for Real Madrid. I truly enjoyed watching that match and Benfica's dedication, and Trubin's final goal simply blew my mind. It was something special, matches like this don't happen often. And Real Madrid perhaps underestimated Benfica, that can't be allowed to happen in the Champions League.

I can not agree with you. The match was very important for benfica, it is true. But was the match less important for madrid ? If madrid could have scored points in this match , they could have qualified directly for the round of 16. But now  the road to qualifying for the round of  16 is a bit difficult for madrid.

Also, since the match is Benfica's home match , does madrid have to play badly ? There is no reason to consider Benfica a very strong team. Even then, madrid's boys  did not play well. This is madrid's failure. If Madrid could have dominated the match, then  maybe we could have said that Madrid had bad luck  that they could not win. But Madrid did not play well in this match. And if madrid continues to play like this , they will gradually move away from the la liga title and it is impossible to win the Champions League title with such a performance.

[m4r1o]

If we look at the bookmakers' statistics as of today, Arsenal are still the favourites.
Remember that bookmakers are not people who like to lose money, so they don't place odds randomly.
They have a scary history and statistics and they rarely make mistakes.

Arsenal are the bookies favourites too, but that doesn't leave the result certain.
Bookmakers are organized by people and evaluate the circumstances of the game and statistics, but even they can be wrong, no one has the ability to predict a result with certainty. Mistakes are actually not as rare as you mean.

[Anayochukwu]

The Benfica goalkeeper has made the game more interesting than every other games because I was hoping that Real Madrid would get an equalizer but the second red card just turn things around for them. What an awesome header from the goalkeeper this was the best performance that I have ever seen from the Champions league and the funny part of it is that the goalkeeper wasn't expecting that he would be the one to score the goal because the celebration was absolutely something else.

Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin really caught people's attention in their game. I was shocked to see him in that position when they were about to take the kick. I was like why did he want to take the risk when they're already leading? Not knowing he was about to make something great happen. What surprised me is that it was Barcelona we thought would end up in playoffs, but all of a sudden it's turned to Real Madrid. If care isn't taken Real Madrid will use this to punish Alvaro Arbeloa and sack him because it's a small thing for their side.

Out of the 8 teams that qualified for the knockout stage five are Premier League teams Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City. Normally these teams are the strongest in the Premier League, and they've still pushed their performance in the Champions League I'm impressed by their performance.

The goal was extremely shocking one because such only happens when a team is losing at the die minute, that when a goalkeeper put such pressure but yesterday was totally different because they were leading Real Madrid by 3:2 which Real Madrid goalkeeper was supposed to be the one that would put such pressure but the Benfica goalkeeper just took the game personal and used the remaining one minute and double the lead. Of course Real Madrid can do undoable because it was a huge lose for them, just happy to see that the premier league teams has upper hand in the champions league and there is a big possibility for them.

[Iranus]

If we look at the bookmakers' statistics as of today, Arsenal are still the favourites.
Remember that bookmakers are not people who like to lose money, so they don't place odds randomly.
They have a scary history and statistics and they rarely make mistakes.

Arsenal are the bookies favourites too, but that doesn't leave the result certain.
Bookmakers are organized by people and evaluate the circumstances of the game and statistics, but even they can be wrong, no one has the ability to predict a result with certainty. Mistakes are actually not as rare as you mean.

Arsenal won all the matches  in the first round. They even won by dominating. They have the ability to win the title. That is why the team is considered the favorite. But last season we saw that despite liverpool's excellent  performance in the first round, they lost in the round of 16 match and were eliminated from the champions league. Arsenal has the ability to be the champion, they are in good form. But if they  make a mistake in any match in the knockout round , they will be eliminated. Arsenal will have to play very seriously in every match.

[bastisisca]

therefore sending Napoli out of the champions league with a 2-3 stunner. Antonio Conte watching from the sideline could not believe what has just happened when J. Pedro banged the third goal for Chelsea at the 82 minutes.

It was certainly a huge disappointment for Napoli. Words fail to describe conceding a goal in the 82nd minute. I completely understand the surprised faces; unfortunately, this happens in football.
All it takes is a small distraction and if the opponent exploits it, you're done for.

[9ja Amaka]

I don't think the result of the Benfica match should be applied to Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Barcelona. Yesterday was a special match, where a win for Benfica was more important than for Real Madrid. I truly enjoyed watching that match and Benfica's dedication, and Trubin's final goal simply blew my mind. It was something special, matches like this don't happen often. And Real Madrid perhaps underestimated Benfica, that can't be allowed to happen in the Champions League.

I don't think Real Madrid has been at their best since last season, and that just showed in the game against Benfica. They needed a win to secure the top 8, but they lost 4-2 to Benfica, which in my opinion they wanted it more. We need to give kudos to Benfica for their fighting spirit and how they converted their chances. They deserve to be in the playoff and I am glad they got the last goal they need to qualify. Congratulations to them and Real Madrid need to up their game if they want to go far in this competition.

[IjawMan]

Arsenal is the first team to win 8 out of 8 games in the Champions League ever since the new method was introduced.
They are also the first team to win all 8 Champions League games by scoring 2+ goals in a single game.
I think they have been incredible in this league. They might actually win the Champions League before the Premier League. Right now, they are the favorites in both leagues.

You forgot to add that Arsenal had 5 cleansheet wins in the 8 matches that were all won. It is totally an incredible run for Arsenal in the UEFA champions league and the record they have created should take a many seasons to be broken by another club, with how rivalrous the competition is. 

One trophy is as good as another between the premier league and the champions league, they should just win it and it will reduce the mockery about the club's many years of no significant trophy to the shelves.

[BitBakerr1]

Yeah, and that's why betting on soccer games is quite exciting for those of us who want to get our adrenaline pumping with our bets. And I'm sure many people bet big on Real Madrid in last night's game, and yeah, they certainly didn't expect to lose. Sometimes in soccer, even a strong squad depth and exceptional strategy can still lead to failure if luck isn’t on your side. And what happened to Real Madrid might be an example of that. What’s even more unfortunate for Real Madrid is that they received two red cards for their players.

And now, the only truly reliable teams in La Liga seem to be Barcelona. Because only Barcelona can directly advance to the next stage without going through the playoffs first.

I don't think the result of the Benfica match should be applied to Real Madrid's La Liga clash with Barcelona. Yesterday was a special match, where a win for Benfica was more important than for Real Madrid. I truly enjoyed watching that match and Benfica's dedication, and Trubin's final goal simply blew my mind. It was something special, matches like this don't happen often. And Real Madrid perhaps underestimated Benfica, that can't be allowed to happen in the Champions League.

I think Real Madrid underestimated benfica too much and that was why they lost to them, Real Madrid was the first to score but it was shocking to me that benfica came back and started scoring them and made it 4:1 I never expected a result like that, the match was very serious and I must say benfica performed very well and it was probably because it’s there home the match was played and again Real Madrid had two red card that gave benfica the opportunity to score the last goal there by making it 4 goals, congratulations to benfica they deserve the win because they put in their best performance and got what they deserved and wanted, the match was really an amazing match and I’m very sure everyone that watched the match enjoyed it very well.

[dollyamo]

Perez is one of the problem of Real Madrid, the team did not have good sporting directors who knows how to sign players, they only signed attacking midfielders without not thinking of signing Modric and Toni Kroos replacement, this is the worse Real Madrid team I have ever seen in my life since I started supporting the team, Real Madrid former players have face many problems with their performance and the players turned things around but the current players don?t have experience, selling some players who are not in the club level is the best and if Perez and the board did not take action after this season the team will be worse than this season.

Do you actually see them as the worst team of recent years? i am sorry to hear this from a longtime fan; i don't have the in-depth knowledge of Real Madrid to be able to judge.
Maybe you're not being too harsh? In any case, they're one point behind Barcelona.

[knowngunman]

It has started. I'm going over 1.5 in all matches for today except juventus. You can never fully trust them with goals when you need it. If all goes well I'm treating myself to some pizza.

It was a very good prediction. You got 17 out of 18 matches right. But since the USG - Atalanta match ended 1-0, your entire parlay lost. If you had applied the same logic you used for Juve to Atalanta as well, it would've been a huge winning parlay. Good effort though.

I also thought the cutoff would be 16 points and I got that right. Real Madrid and Inter finished with 15 points and they had to play in the play-off stage. Favorites like PSG and Juve will also play there. But that's not very important. Last year's champions PSG weren't in the top 8 either.
Congratulations to Arsenal for finishing the group stage perfectly. I hope the journey ends with a trophy this time.

You can't just get it perfectly when it matters in gambling. Someone allegedly bet on "Goalkeeper not to score" in all the eighteen games yesterday but guess what, Benfica goalkeeper scored against Real Madrid in the last minute to spoil everything in that ticket. To be honest, I never expected Atalanta losing the game without even a goal yesterday. I don't really understand that coach. He usually change his formation completely and even the goalkeeper in the most important matches. Atalanta could have easily made it to top eight on the ranking but he chose to play with the reserve instead of regular formation.

[davis196]

Too many people are drawing conclusions based off of one game between Benfica and Real. It's not the end of the world for Real Madrid. They weren't kicked out of the Champions league after losing this particular match. It seems that Benfica was the team, which was totally motivated to win, because this match was "all or nothing" for them. Real Madrid will continue in the playoffs, so this defeat isn't such a big tragedy for them.
Yes, Arbeloa sucks as a replacement coach and it seems that this season is going to be transitional for Real. I have no expectations for Real to win the La Liga or the Champions League, but we might be surprised by the end of the season. Mourinho was criticized and hated by some Benfica fans in the past few weeks, but he definitely knows how to win important games.