Real Madrid, the most successful team in the UEFA Champions League with 15 titles, will look to pull off a double against Benfica to enter this season’s round of 16 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday.
Madrid hold a 1-0 lead over Benfica from the first leg in Lisbon last week, in a match disrupted by alleged racist abuse directed at Los Blancos winger Vinicius Junior.
But key striker Kylian Mbappe, the club’s top scorer this season, was not available for selection for the Champions League match.
Why isn’t Mbappe playing in Real Madrid vs Benfica?
Mbappé has been suffering from knee pain in recent weeks and is therefore not playing at the Santiago Bernabéu.
His coach, Alvaro Arbeloa, said earlier on Tuesday that the player was “willing to play” in the second leg and that he “appreciated his efforts” in playing through pain, but it was later decided that the forward would not feature against Benfica.
Mbappé leads the Champions League top scorers list this season with thirteen goals, despite a problem with the ligaments on the outside of his left knee, which has been bothering him since the Christmas holidays.
The forward did not appear to move as freely as usual during Madrod’s 1-2 defeat to Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
Published on February 25, 2026
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