Real Madrid dropped by Mourinho's Benfica into Champions League playoffs round alongside PSG

Real Madrid was stunningly dumped into the knockout playoffs of the Champions League by its former coach José Mourinho — whose Benfica team advanced on a last-gasp goal by its goalkeeper — on Wednesday and will be joined there by title holder Paris Saint-Germain.

Madrid started play third in the 36-team standings and despite two goals by Kylian Mbappé lost 4-2 at Benfica and fell to ninth — one place below advancing direct to the round of 16.

Astonishingly, Benfica only advanced to the knockout phase in 24th place on goal difference because Ukrainian goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time with a dramatic header when Madrid was down to nine players. Red cards were shown minutes earlier for Raul Asencio and Rodrygo.

“This victory is historic and important," Mourinho said, adding of his goalkeeper: "We knew that he could do it. You have to put the ball there, but it’s an amazing goal for the guy.”

Trubin said it was a “crazy moment. I’m not used to scoring. I’m 24 years old and it’s the first time.”

Madrid fell out of the top-eight places when Sporting Lisbon got a stoppage-time goal in a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao.

“They have outplayed us," Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said of Benfica. "We’ve been far from the version we should be.”

Sporting surprisingly joined Liverpool — which beat Qarabag 6-0 and got a goal from Mohamed Salah — Tottenham, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City in sealing top-eight finishes. Table-topping Arsenal, which completed a perfect eight-win program beating Kairat Almaty 3-2, and second-place Bayern Munich had already advanced to the round of 16 that starts in March.

PSG and Newcastle both started in the top eight but drew 1-1 in Paris which sent both falling in the standings to 11th and 12th. The game had an explosive start when Newcastle conceded a penalty for a handball in the first minute, and Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé's spot-kick was saved by Nick Pope.

Madrid, PSG, Newcastle and last year’s beaten finalist Inter Milan all will be in the qualifying playoffs draw Friday for teams that placed ninth through 24th.

Still, PSG went through the playoffs round a year ago in taking the longest path possible with two extra games in February toward its first European title.

“We don’t have to think about it too much,” said Vitinha, who gave PSG an eighth-minute lead. “We had the same problem last year, and then out of nowhere things changed and the ball started to go in.”

There is a 50-50 chance it will be Mourinho's Benfica against Real Madrid and Mbappé two more times next month.

The bracket for the playoffs means the ninth-place team, Madrid, can be drawn only against the team that placed either 23rd or 24th. That is, respectively, Bodo/Glimt or Benfica.

If Benfica is not paired with Madrid, then it will be the 10th-place team, Inter Milan — whom Mourinho led to the 2010 Champions League title. It is a remarkable renaissance for Mourinho, who lost his job at Fenerbahce in August for losing in the Champions League qualifying playoffs. Against Benfica.

Norwegian debutant Bodo/Glimt will be a popular addition to the knockout phase, claiming 23rd place by winning 2-1 at Atletico Madrid. That showed how crucial it was to beat Man City last week inside its Arctic Circle home.

Benfica’s late drama eliminated Marseille, which lost 3-0 at Club Brugge and dropped below the cutoff into 25th place with nine points.

Also in the playoffs are Qarabag, Brugge, Galatasaray and Olympiakos, plus Juventus and Atalanta from Italy.

Italian champion Napoli was ousted in 30th place after losing 3-2 at home to Chelsea.

At halftime Wednesday, the in-play standings showed Chelsea in 12th and Barcelona 13th, both heading for the playoffs.

Barcelona was trailing at home to lowly Copenhagen, whose goal was scored by 17-year-old Icelandic striker Viktor Dadason, who scored three times in his debut Champions League season.

Barcelona flipped the game in the second half of a 4-1 win with goals from a stellar forward line: Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Sporting's Ivan Fresneda, front, celebrates after Alisson Santos scoring the third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Athletic Bilbao and Sporting CP, in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

PSG's Goncalo Ramos, right, congratulates Newcastle's Yoane Wissa at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle in Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Benfica's head coach Jose Mourinho celebrates at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Benfica's head coach Jose Mourinho celebrates at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres scores his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Arsenal and Kairat Almaty in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, left, scores the opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match Manchester City and Galatasaray in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)

PSG's Vitinha celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle in Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Copenhagen's Vicktor Dabason celebrates with Jordan Larsson the opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Barcelona and Copenhagen in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Benfica's Tomas Araujo, center, goes for a header against Real Madrid's Dean Huijsen, left, during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Newcastle's Yoane Wissa, center, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League soccer match between Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain in Newcastle, England, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Manchester City's Erling Haaland, right, and Glimt's Jostein Gundersen battle for the ball during the Champions League soccer match between Bodo/Glimt and Manchester City in Bodo, Norway, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB via AP)

Benfica's head coach Jose Mourinho gives instructions during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Juventus and SL Benfica in Turin, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, right, celebrates with his teammate Marcus Rashford after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Slavia Prague and Barcelona in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, right, celebrates after scoring his side's first goal with Vitinha during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Sporting CP and Paris Saint-Germain, in Lisbon, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

The economy, inflation and how those forces could impact the lives of Americans were front and center over the past week. Trips to the grocery store or gas station are more painful than they were last year, and that is impacting the decisions of both households and businesses.

Here’s a snapshot of prominent economic data and news that occurred over the past week and what it potentially means for you.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in nearly nine months, driving up borrowing costs for homebuyers during what’s traditionally the housing market’s busiest time of the year.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.51% from 6.36% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. Despite the sharp increase, the average rate remains below 6.86%, where it was a year ago.

Rates have been mostly trending higher since the war with Iran began. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has roiled energy markets, sending crude oil prices sharply higher — a key driver of inflation.

Expectations of higher oil prices and worries about big and growing debts for the U.S. government and others have pushed up long-term bond yields, causing mortgage rates to head higher.

U.S. retailers have spent months navigating an uncertain economic environment, from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to the impact of soaring gasoline prices due to the Iran war. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose again this week, ending at about $4.55 per gallon on Friday, according to AAA. Gasoline prices are about 45% above where they were at this time last year.

Based on quarterly financial reports from Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s and TJX, shoppers are cautious but still spending, helped by more generous tax refunds. Yet there is a widespread belief among economists that once those refunds dry up, shoppers will pull back on spending. Consumer spending is the dominant economic engine for the U.S., and retreat would have broad implications for the U.S.

Walmart issued a forecast for the current quarter on Thursday that was weaker than what Wall Street had been expecting. Target raised its annual revenue outlook on Wednesday, saying it expected momentum to continue the rest of the year. Yet the upgraded sales expectations were still below the pace of the first quarter.

Fewer Americans filed for jobless aid last week as layoffs remain low despite a number of uncertainties that continue to cloud the economy.

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending May 16 fell by 3,000 to 209,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 213,000 new applications analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet had forecast.

Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

Despite historically low layoffs, the labor market appears to be stuck in what economists call a “low-hire, low-fire” state. That’s kept the unemployment rate low at 4.3%, but left many of those out of work struggling to find new employment.

The split between Wall Street and most U.S. households grew even wider Friday, as U.S. stocks rose toward the finish of an eighth straight winning week, their longest such streak since 2023. That’s even though a survey showed on the same day that U.S. consumers are feeling worse about the economy.

Shares of Workday and Zoom Communications rose after both delivered better profit reports for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

They’re the latest companies to top analysts’ expectations for profits for the start of 2026. And the cavalcade of such reports has helped U.S. stocks remain near their records. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.

A hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Niles, Ill., Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Drones operated by Zipline leave base to make deliveries from a Walmart store in Pea Ridge, Ark., Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Options trader Anthony Spina works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)