Champions League draw: Real Madrid face Benfica again

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Real Madrid face an immediate rematch with Benfica after the teams were drawn together in the Champions League playoffs yesterday.

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

Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) must also take that route and face an all-French showdown with Monaco. And this season’s surprise package, tiny Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt, will play last year’s beaten finalists 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.

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 – who had started the match in third place – drop out of the top eight, who directly advance to the round of 16.

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, who won the Champions League in such thrilling style last season, will have to take the long way round in their defence of the trophy. They play a Monaco team that is nine places and 21 points below them in the French league.

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

Bodø/Glimt have 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 their debut in European club football’s biggest competition. And they will present a major threat to Inter’s hopes of progressing.

Champions League playoffs draw

Benfica vs Real Madrid

Bodø/Glimt vs Inter Milan

Monaco vs Paris Saint-Germain

Qarabag vs Newcastle

Galatasaray vs Juventus

Brugge vs Atletico Madrid

Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta

Olympiakos vs Bayer Leverkusen

When will the playoffs take place?

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

The second legs over February 24-25.

Teams qualified automatically to the round of 16

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