MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid was without Kylian Mbappé for Wednesday's match against Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs.
Mbappé was not included in the squad for the game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium because of a left knee injury he has been nursing for some time.
The France star, who scored nine goals in his last eight matches for Madrid, was replaced in attack by Gonzalo García. The other forwards in the starting lineup were Arda Guler and Vinícius Júnior.
Madrid’s forwards on the bench included included Franco Mastantuono and Brahim Díaz.
Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham also won't be available because of injuries. In defense, Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa was without Dean Huijsen.
Madrid won the first leg 1-0 last week in Benfica and only needs a draw to advance to the round of 16.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.