Spanish press praise Sporting, take a swipe at... Benfica | OneFootball

Real Madrid secured their place in the Champions League round of 16 after eliminating Benfica, but their performance left doubts in Spain. The newspaper Marca mentions that, despite qualifying, the merengue team did not fully convince the fans, and will need to perform at a higher level, bringing Sporting into the conversation.

The newspaper argues that Sporting or Manchester City are teams that, in the publication's view, present more consistent collective arguments, and could pose an even more demanding challenge. Sporting reaches this stage with reinforced status, after finishing in the top 8 of the league phase, which guarantees them a seeded position.

It is worth noting that Thibaut Courtois, the "merengue" team's goalkeeper, declared that he would like to play against the leonine emblem. "I haven't played against Sporting for a long time, they have a beautiful stadium. They are a tough opponent, doing very well in the Portuguese league," he said after the game.

By finishing the league phase in seventh place, the penultimate direct access to the Champions League round of 16, Sporting avoided the playoff - a round in which they were eliminated last season by Borussia Dortmund - and were left with four possible opponents, now reduced to two: Real Madrid and Bodø/Glimt from Norway.

The draw for the round of 16 — as well as the subsequent rounds — takes place in Nyon, Switzerland, this Friday, at 11 am local time (12 pm in Lisbon). The competitive framework places Sporting in a strategic position: they already know they will play the first leg away and decide the tie at the Estádio José Alvalade.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.