{"id":491260,"date":"2026-02-26T08:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/491260\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T08:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T08:39:10","slug":"real-madrid-know-next-champions-league-opponents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/491260\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid know next Champions League opponents"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid got the better of Benfica on Wednesday to book their place in the Round of 16 of the Champions League. Alvaro Arbeloa\u2019s side won 2-1<\/a> at the Bernabeu, which ensured a 3-1 aggregate success.<\/p>\n

It was a nervy opening to the second leg for Real Madrid, who went behind before responding with goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Vinicius Junior. Thibaut Courtois did well to keep Benfica at bay, and as per Diario AS<\/a>, he explained why it was a tough start for his teammates. He also believes they will step up as the Champions League progresses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t play with a right winger and they created problems for us. In the second we were able to adjust, but in the first we did suffer. We were unlucky with their goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are reliable, in the Champions League it\u2019s normal to get chances. In the game we lack a bit of fluidity with the ball. We have to break the low blocks more. That\u2019s what the coach asks of us. We\u2019re not playing great yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtois explains save technique<\/p>\n

Courtois made a couple of key saves, particularly one from Richard Rios where he had to get low quickly to keep the ball from going into the back of his net. He explained why he is so good at these types of stops.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m well prepared to get down low to make saves. It\u2019s because of my parents\u2019 genes, who were volleyball players. If I take my leg off in that movement I can go down quickly, it\u2019s a technique I learned at Chelsea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtois: I\u2019m glad Vinicius is dancing<\/p>\n

Courtois also expressed his delight at seeing Vinicius Junior find the back of the net once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad he\u2019s dancing and that he\u2019s still dancing, it means he\u2019s scoring goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image via Angel Martinez\/Getty ImagesCourtois expects Manchester City match-up in RO16<\/p>\n

Real Madrid will face either Manchester City or Sporting CP in the next round, but in Courtois\u2019 eyes, it is obvious whom he and his teammates will be facing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that we will get Manchester City on Friday. It\u2019s the dream lottery match. I haven\u2019t played Sporting CP since 2015 with Chelsea. We\u2019ll see if for once it doesn\u2019t fall like that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real Madrid got the better of Benfica on Wednesday to book their place in the Round of 16…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-491260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}