Real Madrid is visiting Lisbon knowing that this is not just an “ordinary European visit”. The first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at Benfica Stadium carries with it a close and painful memory, when the Royal team lost 4-2 in a crazy match in the league stage, which was decided by a goal by Benfica goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin in stoppage time, a shot that will remain stuck in the mind for a long time.
The new match takes place in different circumstances, but with the same complexity: Real Madrid is accustomed to imposing its style of possession, while Benfica has proven its ability to defeat them when the match turns into a race of spaces and seconds. Although the talk is about two home and away matches, the “details of the first leg” at the “Da Luz” stadium often write half the story, especially when the return match is at the “Bernabeu”, where the pressure on the guest is doubled more than the hope on the home team.
The first key to understanding the match is the psychological aspect, because Real Madrid enters the confrontation deprived of Rodrigo in the two matches due to a two-match suspension from the European Union. This absence is not just a minor detail, because on such nights, Rodrigo represents an “additional solution” that expands the attacking options and gives the team a greater ability to threaten depth without sacrificing balance. His absence forces Real Madrid to search for a new balance between the density of the midfield and the number of players capable of ending attacks quickly.
The second key is managing transitions. In the 4-2 match, Real Madrid had more possession of the ball, but Benfica was more aggressive at the moment of recovering the ball and rushing directly towards the goal, turning the match into a “two-rhythm” match, not one. Numbers alone don’t decide the outcome, but they do show how a team with less possession could be more dangerous if its transitions were clearer and quicker. Specifically here, the question of the defensive line and its coverage of the spaces behind the full-backs arises, because Benfica will try to force Real Madrid to advance and then hit it in the back, while Real Madrid will try to reverse the equation through early pressure that prevents Benfica from raising its head and building a “clean” first attack. In practice, Real Madrid needs to make Benfica play with their back to goal more than facing them.
The third key is set pieces, not just as a “training detail,” but as an open wound. Tropin’s headed goal after a free kick in the last minute was not just a funny shot, but rather a message that concentration may disappear in one moment, and that any leniency in positioning and control inside the area may undermine 90 minutes of control. Real Madrid in Lisbon needs to close this door before anything else, because Benfica will be tempted to repeat the same scenario, even if with different faces. The rhythm factor remains. Benfica at home often start strongly, trying to “steal” an early surge that confuses the opponent and puts them in a reactionary position. Real Madrid, with its European experience, knows that the goal is not a broad victory as much as it is to prevent Benfica from recording a result that gives it a moral advantage before the “Bernabeu” match. A draw with an away goal or even a narrow loss can be overturned in Madrid, but the real trap is for the match to slip away again and become more like an open fight.
That’s why this confrontation looks like more than just a first-leg match. It is a test of Real Madrid’s ability to turn a harsh lesson into a plan of action, and a test for Benfica to prove that the 4-2 night was not just an emotional fluke but a repeatable model. In “Da Luz” the first answer will appear, while the final answer will be written later in Madrid.
