It’s now been nearly 22 years since a young Jose Mourinho sprinted along the Old Trafford touchline as his unfancied FC Porto side drew with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United on their way to UEFA Champions League glory in 2003-04. On Wednesday night, The Special One didn’t sprint as fast or as far, but there was no mistaking the jig of delight and the fist pumps as his Benfica team clinched the last playoff spot in the 36-team competition in the most dramatic circumstances.
Benfica’s thoroughly merited 4-2 also had the effect of pushing Real Madrid, one of Mourinho’s former teams, into the play-offs. In truth, they deserved no more after a shocking defensive display. Kylian Mbappe’s two goals – he now has an incredible 13 in this season’s competition – merely papered over gaping cracks, and Real must now navigate a play-off against either Norway’s FK Bodø/Glimt or Benfica, again, to progress to the last 16.
The other big names to drop out of the top eight, who automatically go through to the last 16, were Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the defending champions. On a frustrating night in front of their home fans, PSG were held a 1-1 draw by a tenacious Newcastle side that saw Joe Willock cancel out Vitinha’s opener.
Manchester City avoided a play-off and took eighth place with a 2-0 home win over Galatasaray. Their reward is likely to be a last-16 tie against either Real or Inter Milan. City’s progress rounded off a remarkable night for England teams, who took five of the eight guaranteed last-16 berths.
Arsenal eased to a comfortable 3-1 win over Kairat Almaty to maintain their perfect record, while Liverpool took third place behind Bayern Munich after thumping Qarabag 6-0 at Anfield. The shock entrants into the last 16 were Tottenham Hotspur in fourth. Thomas Frank’s side have had a forgettable EPL season, but a 2-0 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt ensured that Spurs will be around in March.
The other big winners were Chelsea, who continued the narrative of European misery for Antonio Conte, their former coach, by coming from behind to win 3-2 in Naples. Joao Pedro’s two second-half strikes catapulted Chelsea to sixth and dumped the Italian champions out of the competition.
Barcelona wrapped up fifth place with four second-half goals after trailing FC Copenhagen at half-time, and Sporting Clube de Portugal took seventh spot after a dramatic 3-2 victory away in Bilbao.
Alongside Napoli, other big names that missed out on the playoffs include Ajax, Marseille and PSV Eindhoven, who have lifted the trophy six times between them.
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