Benfica manager Jose Mourinho
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Watch Benfica vs Real Madrid today as league phase rivals go at it again in the Champions League play-off round, with all the details on live streaming and TV coverage right here in this guide.
Benfica vs Real Madrid key information
• Date: Tuesday, 17 February 2026
• Kick-off time: 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET
• Venue: Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
• Free Streaming: RTL Play (BEL)
• TV & Streaming: Prime Video (UK), Paramount+ (USA), Stan Sport (Australia)
• Watch from anywhere: Get 70% off NordVPN
Of all the managers to knock Real Madrid out of the top eight in the league phase table, to do so by a wide enough margin to keep his own hopes alive in the most ridiculous manner imaginable, it just had to be him.
FourFourTwo has all the information you need to watch Benfica vs Real Madrid online, on TV, and from anywhere.
Can I watch Benfica vs Real Madrid for free?
RTL Play in Belgium have selected Benfica vs Real Madrid for free-to-air coverage.
How to watch Benfica vs Real Madrid in the UK
Benfica vs Real Madrid is this week’s top Tuesday pick in the Champions League and will be shown live on Prime Video.
If you’re an Amazon subscriber in the UK but need to access your subscription away from home today, you’ll need a VPN like NordVPN. Geographical restrictions apply.
SEE ALSO | FourFourTwo’s Champions League Predictor: Tell us the results of every UCL fixture and get on our leaderboard
Watch Benfica vs Real Madrid in the US
Benfica vs Real Madrid will be available for streaming in the United States on Paramount+ courtesy of the official Champions League broadcaster, CBS.
SEE ALSO | Champions League power rankings: 10 favourites to lift Europe’s biggest prize in 2025/26
How to watch Benfica vs Real Madrid in Australia
Football fans in Australia can watch Benfica vs Real Madrid live through Stan Sport.
Watch Benfica vs Real Madrid from anywhere
Those away from home looking to stream the action on TNT Sports or Paramount Plus can now do so with a VPN.
The tech experts at Tom’s Guide review a lot of VPNs and right now they reckon NordVPN is the best VPN you can buy. And the good news is that NordVPN are currently offering an amazing deal on the service…
SEE ALSO | Champions League TV guide
Benfica vs Real Madrid: Preview
There’s a certain appeal to each of this week’s Champions League knock-out round first leg matches but Real Madrid’s instant return to Lisbon undoubtedly tops the bill.
The 15-time winners missed out on automatic progress to the round of 16 on this very turf not three weeks ago, losing two players to stoppage-time red cards while they were 3-2 down and then conceding a goal scored by a goalkeeper for good measure.
Anatoliy Trubin, the Ukrainian stopper whose goal saw Benfica sneak into the play-offs at the expense of Marseille, will be focused on his day job when Los Blancos come back to town.
Mourinho’s Benfica will not be facing Rodrygo and Raul Asencio, the players dismissed in the chaotic last knockings of a spectacularly silly night of Champions League football.
Both of these teams have experience of the knock-out round having finished between 9th and 16th in the league phase in 2024-25.
Both successfully negotiated that hurdle but Benfica were subsequently knocked out by Barcelona in the round of 16, losing both legs of their tie against the Catalan giants.
Real Madrid fared rather better under Carlo Ancelotti, seeing off Manchester City and then city rivals Atletico Madrid before being beaten by Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
After sacking Xabi Alonso, Ancelotti’s successor, Real Madrid appointed Alvaro Arbeloa as their new head coach. There aren’t too many active bosses in Europe who know Mourinho better.
FourFourTwo’s prediction
Benfica 2-2 Real Madrid
After the chaos of the league phase conclusion, FourFourTwo is predicting a more docile scoring draw in Lisbon this evening.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
