“The Spanish know what Mourinho’s Benfica is.”, — write: football.ua
The Spanish know what Mourinho’s Benfica is.
Getty Images January 30, 2026, 6:59 p.m
“We are going back to Lisbon. It’s strange because we haven’t played them in 60 years and now we have three games in a month.
We must achieve a good result. They had an excellent match the other day and showed their strengths. This should help us prepare properly for the first leg, get a good result and, with the support of the Santiago Bernabeu, reach the round of 16.
We have to approach the match with the intention of winning. We are a team that plays to win. Yes, the second match will take place in our stadium, but in the first meeting we must make it clear that we are going to win.
We have attacking players who can decide the outcome of the game at any moment and we have to take advantage of that. We need a solid defense but we know that part of our strength is in attack and we have to make the most of that.
We have two weeks to train, recover from injuries and rest. We must use this period to prepare for whatever lies ahead. Of course, we approach these games with great enthusiasm. Now there must be a real test, and every match can either bring Real closer to the title or further away from it.
We must continue in the same spirit, show the same energy and unity. We have a lot of talented players and hopefully we can get the injured players back to form. This is a crucial stage and it is extremely important for Arbeloa to have almost the entire squad,” Butragueño said.