Connect with us

Sports

Champions League draw: Real Madrid faces Benfica again, PSG vs. Monaco

Published

on

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Real Madrid faces an immediate rematch with Benfica after the teams were drawn together in the Champions League playoffs on Friday.

Benfica beat Madrid 4-2 on Wednesday to deny the 15-time European champion direct qualification to the round of 16 and force it into the uncertainty of the playoffs.

Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain must also take that route and faces an all-French showdown with Monaco. And this season’s surprise package, tiny Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt, will play last year’s beaten finalist Inter Milan.

The winners of the two-legged playoffs will advance to the round of 16, where Madrid may yet face another showdown with Manchester City.

Advertisement

Mourinho’s Bernabeu return

The draw means former Madrid coach Jose Mourinho will return to the Bernabeu with Benfica after pulling off a stunning win in the final round of the league phase, which included a goal from goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in the eighth minute of added time.

Leading 3-2 after the 90-minute mark, Benfica needed another goal to climb into the playoffs on goal difference. It managed that in the most dramatic fashion when Ukranian keeper Trubin headed in the crucial goal.

Defeat saw Madrid — which had started the match in third place — drop out of the top eight, which directly advance to the round of 16.

Advertisement

Mourinho — a two-time Champions League winner — will have the chance to inflict more pain on his former club, which let go of coach Xabi Alonso last month and has turned to Alvaro Arbeloa to try to salvage the season.

PSG, which won the Champions League in such thrilling style last season, will have to take the long way round in its defense of the trophy. It plays a Monaco team that is nine places and 21 points below it in the French league.

PSG’s triumph last year also saw it advance via the playoffs.

Bodø/Glimt has been the story of this season’s competition so far after back-to-back upsets against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid to reach the playoffs on its debut in European club soccer’s biggest competition. And it will present a major threat to Inter’s hopes of progressing.

Advertisement

Champions League playoffs draw

Bodø/Glimt vs. Inter Milan

Monaco vs. Paris Saint-Germain

Brugge vs. Atletico Madrid

Advertisement

Borussia Dortmund vs. Atalanta

Olympiakos vs. Bayer Leverkusen

When will the playoffs take place?

The first legs will be played over Feb. 17-18.

Advertisement

The second legs over Feb. 24-25.

Teams qualified automatically to the round of 16

Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon, Manchester City.

The Europa League final this season is in Istanbul, but Nottingham Forest will take an early journey to the Turkish city after being drawn against Fenerbahce in the playoff round. Scottish champion Celtic plays Germany’s Stuttgart, while Spanish club Celta Vigo faces Greek team PAOK, and Lille of France takes on Red Star Belgrade of Serbia.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

NFL fans react to Micah Parsons filming female cheerleaders at Pro Bowl

Published

on

Miach Parsons was named to the Pro Bowl in his first year with the Green Bay Packers. Although the superstar defensive end was in San Francisco to attend the Pro Bowl festivities on Tuesday, he was on an electric scooter while moving around Moscone Center due to his knee injury. In one of the videos from the festivities that went viral on social media, Parsons was spotted filming the female cheerleaders doing a routine for the crowd.

When fans caught wind of the video clip in which Parsons was filming the cheerleaders while on an electric scooter, they slammed the Packers star.

“Creep behavior,” one tweeted.

Looking to predict NFL playoff Scenarios? Try our NFL Playoff Predictor for real-time simulations and stay ahead of the game!

“Nfl star or creep in training,” another added.

“He not slick,” a third commented.

Here are a few more reactions.

Advertisement

“NAH THIS IS MESSED TF UP,” one wrote.

“Kinda hate that this streamer a*s dude is a packer now. Like bruh… get us to the nfc championship mr highest paid ever,” another added.

“Tell that lame a*s podcaster to show up in the playoffs. Don’t nobody care bout Micah,” a user tweeted.

Micah Parsons finished the 2025 season with 41 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 6.5 stuffs, two forced fumbles and one pass defended. However, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 15 against the Denver Broncos.

Although Parsons helped the Packers qualify for the playoffs, his team was eliminated in the wildcard round with a 31-27 loss to the Chicago Bears.

ALSO READ: “This is worse than silence,” “Unacceptable”: NFL fans rip into Fanatics over “tone deaf” statement release after backlash on Super Bowl merch

ALSO READ: “This guy is such a loser”: NFL fans rip Bills GM Brandon Beane over NSFW comments on Sean McDermott’s firing criticism

Advertisement

Micah Parsons explains how his relationship with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones soured last offseason

Green Bay Packers DE Micah Parsons - Source: GettyGreen Bay Packers DE Micah Parsons - Source: Getty
Green Bay Packers DE Micah Parsons – Source: Getty

Micah Parsons’ relationship with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones soured last offseason, which led to the team trading the DE to the Packers in August. On Tuesday, Parsons opened up his acrimonious split with the Cowboys.

“I just wish some of those things never happened. You know what I mean?,” Parsons told Clarence Hill of All City DLLS Cowboys. “I wish that he never brought me into the office and just let the agent speak. And I wish he hadn’t compromised our relationship. I thought me and Jerry had a good relationship up to that point until this offseason, and it’s sad that it went to sh*t like that.”

Parsons played four years with the Cowboys, earning a Pro Bowl selection in each season. He signed a 4-year, $188 million extension with the Packers after the Cowboys traded him last year.