Real Madrid refocuses on La Liga after stunning loss to Benfica

MADRID (AP) — A day after a stunning loss to Benfica in the Champions League, Real Madrid returns its focus to La Liga knowing that it needs to improve.

Coaches and players were on the same page after the 4-2 defeat in Lisbon left the club in the first knockout stage of the Champions League, taking responsibility for a poor performance and a lack of attitude.

“The games start on minute zero and not on minute 45, so in the end the defeat is deserved," said Kylian Mbappé, who scored both Madrid goals on Wednesday to take his Champions League-leading tally to 13. "I can’t say it’s not deserved because we didn’t play well to win this game. They did. Benfica at home is always difficult. It was our fault.”

Mbappé said it seemed the team didn't take the game as seriously as it should have. Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored Benfica's fourth goal in the last minute, securing the Portuguese side the goal difference it needed to make it to the top 24. Madrid needed only a draw but defeat cost it a top-eight automatic position in the round of 16.

“Benfica were playing for their lives and we didn’t look like we were playing for ours," Mbappé said. "That was the big problem of the game. At the start, both teams had things to play for, we were in the top eight and they were in the top 24. We saw how Benfica played but we didn’t see what was at stake.”

Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said he wasn't able to convey to his players the importance of the game to Benfica.

“I told the players but I didn’t know how to transmit to them what I wanted them to do on the field,” Arbeloa said. “When things don’t work out, when the team is far from the level we gave, the responsibility is always and absolutely mine.”

Real Madrid hosts city rival Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. Madrid has won five in a row in La Liga to cut its deficit to leader Barcelona to only one point. Rayo has lost three consecutive games across all tournaments and sits 16th in the standings, near the relegation zone.

Barcelona, which rallied to beat Copenhagen 4-1 on Wednesday and secure a top eight spot in the Champions League, visits mid-table Elche on Saturday.

Third-placed Atletico Madrid is at second-to-last Levante on the same day, and fourth-placed Villarreal visits ninth-placed Osasuna.

The Basque Country derby on Sunday has Real Sociedad — which has won three in a row in the league — visiting Athletic Bilbao.

Barcelona remained without injured midfielders Pedri and Gavi for its match in Elche, while Madrid could see the return of Antonio Rüdiger and Trent Alexander-Arnold against Rayo. Villarreal will be without defender Juan Foyth after he ruptured his left Achilles tendon in the previous round.

The Spanish league will begin offering 50 euros ($59) for each verified tip on places that are broadcasting games without proper permission.

Bars, restaurants, betting places and similar establishments need to subscribe to a specific package to be able to show the games. The league said such broadcasts have a letter on the corner of the screen to identify them, allowing fans to tell whether they are legal or not.

If people see that an establishment is showing an unauthorized broadcast, they can email La Liga with images to help it verify the infraction.

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Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe attempts a shoot at goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, right, battles for the ball with Benfica's Enzo Barrenechea during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa gives instructions during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa sits at the bench before a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that President Vladimir Putin has agreed not to target the Ukrainian capital and other towns for one week as the region experiences frigid temperatures. There was no immediate confirmation from the Kremlin that Putin has agreed to such a pause.

Russia has been pounding Ukraine's critical infrastructure, hoping to wear down public resistance to the war while leaving many around the country having to endure the dead of winter without heat.

“I personally asked President Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week during this ... extraordinary cold,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, adding that Putin has “agreed to that."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked earlier Thursday whether a mutual halt on strikes on energy facilities was being discussed between Russia and Ukraine, and he refused to comment on the issue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Wednesday had warned that Moscow was planning another large-scale barrage despite plans for further U.S.-brokered peace talks at the weekend.

Trump said he was pleased that Putin has agreed to the pause. Kyiv, which has grappled with severe power shortages this winter, is forecast to enter a brutally cold stretch starting Friday that is expected to last into next week. Temperatures in some areas will drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), the State Emergency Service warned.

“A lot of people said, ‘Don’t waste the call. You’re not going to get that.’” the Republican U.S. president said of his request of Putin. “And he did it. And we’re very happy that they did it.”

Trump did not say when the call with Putin took place or when the ceasefire would go into effect. The White House did not immediately respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of the limited pause in the nearly four-year war.

Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water over the course of the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as “weaponizing winter.”

Last year was the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since 2022 as Russia intensified its aerial barrages behind the front line, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country.

The war killed 2,514 civilians and injured 12,142 in Ukraine — 31% higher than in 2024, it said.

A Russian drone attack killed three people in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region overnight and caused a major blaze in an apartment building, officials said Thursday.

Firefighters also worked through the night to put out fires in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, where two people were injured, officials said.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate Russia is assembling forces for a major aerial attack. Previous large attacks, sometimes involving more than 800 drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles, have targeted the Ukrainian power grid.

The ongoing attacks discredit the peace talks, Zelenskyy said. “Every single Russian strike does,” he said late Wednesday.

Russia’s daily bombardment of civilian areas behind the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has continued despite international condemnation and attempts to end the fighting.

Ukraine is working with SpaceX to address the reported use of its Starlink satellite service by Russian attack drones, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Thursday on the Telegram messaging app.

He said his team contacted the American aerospace company run by Elon Musk and “proposed ways to resolve the issue.” Starlink is a global internet network that relies on around 10,000 satellites orbiting Earth.

Fedorov thanked Musk and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell for their “swift response and the start of work on resolving the situation.”

Musk and SpaceX have sought to steer a delicate course in the war.

Shotwell said a year after the invasion that SpaceX was happy to provide Ukrainians with connectivity “and help them in their fight for freedom.” At the same time, the company sought to restrict Ukraine’s use of Starlink for military purposes, she said.

Negotiations between the two sides are poised to resume on Sunday amid doubts about Moscow’s commitment to a settlement.

The European Union’s top diplomat accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously, calling Thursday in Brussels for more pressure to be exerted on Moscow to press it into making concessions.

“We see them increasing their attacks on Ukraine because they can’t make moves on the battlefield. So, they are attacking civilians,” Kaja Kallas said of Russia at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

She stressed that Europe, which sees its own future security at stake in Ukraine, must be fully involved in talks to end the war. The push for a settlement has been led over the past year by the Trump administration, and European leaders fear their concerns may not be taken into account.

Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, said Thursday “a lot of progress” was made in recent three-way talks and expressed optimism that more headway can be made when the parties meet again in the coming days.

“I think the people of Ukraine are now hopeful and expecting that we are going to deliver a peace deal sometime soon,” Witkoff added.

The number of soldiers killed, injured or missing on both sides during the war could reach 2 million by spring, with Russia sustaining the largest number of troop deaths for any major power in any conflict since World War II, according to an international think tank report published Tuesday.

Madhani reported from Washington. Kamila Hrabchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)