Real's Arbeloa aiming for top-eight finish in must-win match at Benfica

VIDEO SHOWS: REAL MADRID TEAM TRAINING SESSION AND PRESS CONFERENCE WITH COACH ALVARO ARBELOA AND DEFENDER ALVARO CARRERAS RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: LISBON, PORTUGAL (JANUARY 27, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. REAL MADRID PLAYERS GATHERED ON PITCH  2. REAL MADRID FORWARD, VINICIUS JUNIOR, ON PITCH WITH TEAMMATES DANI CARVAJAL, AND GOALKEEPER, ANDRIY LUNIN 3. REAL MADRID FORWARD, KYLIAN MBAPPE, ENTERING PITCH ALONGSIDE FORWARD, RODRYGO 4. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS GATHERED ON PITCH FOR HUDDLE LISTENING TO COACH, ALVARO ARBELOA 5. REAL MADRID COACH ALVARO ARBELOA PEAKING TO HIS PLAYERS  6 (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) REAL MADRID COACH, ALVARO ARBELOA, SAYING:     "For us it's an extremely important match. We want to be in the top eight, so we need to get the three points tomorrow against a great team. Even if they come with a younger side, they still have the best possible leader. I've already warned the players about how difficult tomorrow's match will be. We're coming in with tremendous humility. We know that if we want to win, we'll have to give everything, go out there and play the full 90 minutes at our best. I don't expect anything different from Benfica." 7. VARIOUS OF REAL MADRID PLAYERS WARMING UP  8. VINICIUS JUNIOR AND MIDFIELDER, JUDE BELLINGHAM, WARMING UP  9. ARBELOA TALKING WITH ASSISTANT COACHES  10. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) REAL MADRID COACH, ALVARO ARBELOA, SAYING:         "Yes, I didn't miss the coach's (Mourinho's) press conference. I didn't miss them years ago when I was a player, we would put his press conferences on in the dressing room, all of them and I didn't miss today's. For me, of course, it's a tremendous source of pride to hear everything he said about me. The truth is, I was moved and happy, because Jose (Mourinho) was much more than a coach to me in every way, especially on a personal level. He meant a lot and was very important throughout my whole career, and even today, I consider him a great friend. So, from here I want to thank him for each and every word, and I'm really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow and giving him a big hug." 11. TRAINING IN PROGRESS AT STADIUM 12. MBAPPE, VINICIUS JUNIOR AND MIDFIELDERS, AURELIEN TCHOUAMENI, AND, EDUARDO CAMAVINGA, WARMING UP 13. TRAINING AT STADIUM 14. REAL MADRID DEFENDER, ALVARO CARRERAS, WARMING UP  15.  (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) REAL MADRID LEFT DEFENDER, ALVARO CARRERAS, SAYING:        "We know it's going to be a very important match for them and for us. We both need the win. The atmosphere will surely be very good, but we've come for the three points. We need to play our style of soccer the way we've played in the last matches, and that's how we'll definitely get the three points." 16. TRAINING IN PROGRESS  17. GOALKEEPER, THIBAUT COURTOIS, IN RONDO DRILL NEXT TO MBAPPE 18. MBAPPE DURING RONDO DRILL 19. VINICIUS JUNIOR AND BELLINGHAM DURING RONDO DRILL 20. RONDO DRILL  21. TRAINING IN PROGRESS STORY: Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa stressed the importance of beating Benfica and securing three points in their final Champions League group stage match for a chance to finish in the top eight.     Arbeloa will lead Real against a Benfica side led by coach Jose Mourinho whom he played under at Real Madrid for three seasons from 2010 to 2013.      Arbeloa, in his first managerial role at a senior level, took charge of Real Madrid after Xabi Alonso, another former Mourinho player, was sacked two weeks ago following a brief tenure.     Both coaches heaped praise on one another during their respective press conferences ahead of the make-or-break encounter.      Real Madrid head into the fixture on the back of a commanding 6-1 victory against Monaco last week, which moved them to third in the standings with 15 points.      They trail Bayern Munich by three and leaders Arsenal by six as they close in on a top-eight finish and direct progression to the round of 16.     In stark contrast, Benfica find themselves in serious trouble, sitting 29th and in the elimination zone on six points.      Mourinho's side need to beat Real to have any hope of a top-24 finish and a spot in the knockout-phase playoffs. (Production: Miguel Pereira, Kurt Michael Hall)

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