Real Madrid secured a crucial victory over Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League qualifiers with a strong early performance.
Thibaut Courtois – 7
He came up with a crucial save early on to keep out Fredrik Aursnes. Otherwise a quiet night for Courtois.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
He almost gave Kylian Mbappe the opener, and he made good use of the ball as Real Madrid finally scored after the opening period. Said to be passive defensively in the first half.
Antonio Rudiger – 7.5
A solid performance from Rudiger, as committed as ever. Where he is needed, and adds some edge to the back row.
Dean Huijsen – 8
It looked like Huijsen at the start of the season. He stepped in on several occasions to win the ball back before it reached Vangelos Pavlidis, and on the ball he was comfortable and faultless.
Alvaro Carreras – 7
A decent performance from Carreras, who balanced the desire to provide width on the left, and the account that Vinicius is high and wide, and Eduardo Camavinga inside.
Arda Guler – 7.5
Real Madrid’s best player in the first half, when they looked for the first ball, picking up passes and creating angles. He also checked Anatoliy Trubin with a nice shot. It faded in the second half as the game stretched on.
Fede Valverde – 6.5
He had a couple of good runs through the middle, and covered the right flank well with Alexander-Arnold. He still looks homeless when Real Madrid have the ball, but he has done his job with determination.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 8.5
Awarded as the best player by UEFA, Tchouameni was at a high level. Benfica couldn’t really attack in midfield, and he was a big part of that. He forced himself in a way that I don’t often do.
🏆 ¡Tenemos una cosita para ti, @atchouameni! pic.twitter.com/11rI8wEHrC
– Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) February 17, 2026
Eduardo Camavinga – 7
A good first half where he caught Benfica whenever Real Madrid lost the ball, and went forward well when he did. With Tchouameni and Guler having defined roles, Camavinga and Valverde were given the task of filling other vacancies, and Camavinga did well.
Kylian Mbappe – 5.5
Two of Real Madrid’s best chances in the opening period came to Mbappe on his left, but he didn’t connect well with them. It’s interesting to be defiant in front of goal, and he couldn’t really cause the Benfica defense the problems you expected when given space in the second half.
Vinicius Junior – 8.5
A good first half, Vinicius was among the sharpest players of Real Madrid, although Anatoliy Trubin did not work. He came up with a minute of the game to win it, and whenever Benfica seemed to start attacking, Vinicius would drag the game down at the other end – he handled the embarrassing incident with Prestianni with maturity again.
What you are holding
Brahim Diaz – 6
Came on for the last 15 minutes, but couldn’t make an impact.
Thiago Pitarch – N/A
In stoppage time, his first game in the Champions League. A special night for him, in the midst of chaos.
🆕 ¡Thiago debuts in partido oficial conel @Real Madrid! pic.twitter.com/2rnCBjQhZg
– Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) February 17, 2026
Dani Carvajal – N/A
It came in the last three minutes as Real Madrid saw the game over.
