Mourinho's Benfica Stun Nine-Man Real Madrid 4-2 in Champions League Thriller

In a night of vintage Champions League theatre at the Estádio da Luz, Jose Mourinho's Benfica engineered one of the competition's more memorable comebacks to dispatch Real Madrid 4-2 and secure their passage to the play-offs.

The Portuguese side's path to victory became considerably easier when Real Madrid's discipline crumbled in the closing stages. Raul Asencio and Rodrygo both saw red cards for second bookings in stoppage time, leaving Carlo Ancelotti's men to finish the contest with nine players on the pitch.

Benfica trailed 3-2 heading into the final moments, but crucially needed that fourth goal to guarantee their play-off berth. Remarkably, it came from the most unlikely of sources when goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin rose to head home and send the home crowd into raptures.

Post-match, Mourinho was unequivocal about his side's superiority. "I think we deserved it, we really deserved it," he told Movistar, before highlighting Kylian Mbappé's contribution. "Kylian had two chances, and scored two goals. For Benfica, it's incredibly prestigious to beat Real Madrid. It's fantastic."

The Benfica boss did acknowledge that fortune played a hand in proceedings. When he made his final substitutions—bringing on Franjo Ivanovic and Antonio Silva—he was informed that 3-2 would suffice for qualification. "I was told [the scoreline] is enough, so let's close the door," he explained to Paramount+. "A few seconds later, then they tell me we need one more goal, but I cannot make more changes. That was the lucky point, to get the free kick, to allow us to go there with the big guy [Trubin]."

This victory represents a significant turnaround for Mourinho's outfit, who had lost their opening four Champions League fixtures before clawing their way back into contention. In domestic terms, they continue to occupy third place in the Portuguese league.

After the final whistle, Mourinho was captured in animated conversation with Real Madrid's Dean Huijsen, the former Bournemouth centre-back who arrived at the Bernabéu last summer. The pair share history from Mourinho's time at Roma, where Huijsen played under his management.

According to TNT Sports reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt, Mourinho could be seen mouthing "f***ing hell" to the young defender—presumably a reaction to the match's extraordinary denouement.

Mourinho later elaborated on their exchange: "Dean was my player at Roma, he's friends with my kids and the families know each other well so I have a good relationship with him. We were just speaking about the game and, of course, the kid is disappointed. But I was telling him, 'You were lucky! You were lucky to lose only 4-2', because it could be more."