Real Madrid secured a valuable victory over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League play-off with a solid performance to boot.
Thibaut Courtois – 7
Came up with an important save early on to keep out Fredrik Aursnes. Otherwise a quiet night for Courtois.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
Very nearly provided the opener for Kylian Mbappe, and used the ball well as Real Madrid settled into possession following the opening period. Was a bit passive defensively in the first half.
Antonio Rudiger – 7.5
A solid performance from Rudiger, who was committed as ever. There when he was needed, and added some edge to the backline.
Dean Huijsen – 8
Looked like the Huijsen of the start of the season. Stepped in on numerous occasions to win the ball back before it could get to Vangelos Pavlidis, and on the ball he was comfortable and without mistakes.
Alvaro Carreras – 7
Decent performance from Carreras, who balanced a desire to provide width on the left, and account for Vinicius’ being high and wide, and Eduardo Camavinga inside.
Arda Guler – 7.5
Real Madrid’s best player in the first half, as they probed for the opener, picking passes and creating angles. He also tested Anatoliy Trubin with a fine shot. Faded in the second half as the game became more stretched.
Fede Valverde – 6.5
Had a couple of nice runs driving through the middle, and covered the right side well with Alexander-Arnold. Still looks a little homeless when Real Madrid have the ball, but did his job diligently.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 8.5
Awarded man of the match by UEFA, Tchouameni was at his best. Benfica basically couldn’t attack through the middle of the pitch, and he was a big part of that. Imposed himself in a way that he doesn’t always do.
🏆 ¡Tenemos una cosita para ti, @atchouameni! pic.twitter.com/11rI8wEHrC
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 17, 2026
Eduardo Camavinga – 7
A good first half where he clamped down on Benfica whenever Real Madrid lost the ball, and drove forward well when he had it. With Tchouameni and Guler having defined functions, Camavinga and Valverde were given the task of filling the other gaps, and Camavinga did it well.
Kylian Mbappe – 5.5
Real Madrid’s two best chances of the opening period came to Mbappe on his left, but he didn’t connect well with either. Curiously profligate in front of goal, and didn’t really manage to cause Benfica’s defence the issues you have expected when he was given space in the second half.
Vinicius Junior – 8.5
A good first half, Vinicius was among the sharper of Real Madrid’s forwards, although couldn’t work Anatoliy Trubin. Came up with the moment of the match to win it, and whenever Benfica seemed to start attacking, Vinicius would drag the game down the other end – handled the disgraceful incident with Prestianni with maturity too.
Substitutes
Brahim Diaz – 6
Came on for the final 15 minutes, but wasn’t able to make an impact.
Thiago Pitarch – N/A
On in stoppage time, his debut in the Champions League. A special night for him, amid the chaos.
🆕 ¡Thiago debuta en partido oficial con el @RealMadrid! pic.twitter.com/2rnCBjQhZg
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) February 17, 2026
Dani Carvajal – N/A
Came on for the final three minutes as Real Madrid saw the game out.
