Real Madrid's Spanish coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, is struggling with numerous injuries in his team since the start of his tenure. As he seeks to prove his worth in the upcoming Champions League playoff match against Benfica, he will also face the problem of suspensions. Rodrigo Goes and Raúl Asensio will be absent in Lisbon. The first leg match will take place at the Estádio da Luz on Tuesday, February 17, while the second leg will be held 8 days later at the Santiago Bernabéu. Real Madrid will be without their player Raúl Asensio, who was sent off for two yellow cards due to fouls, which means he will miss the first leg. Additionally, UEFA has imposed a financial fine of 40,000 euros and issued a warning to Benfica's Portuguese coach José Mourinho and Arbeloa for the late entry of players onto the field and the start of the match. Brazilian Rodrigo Goes was also scheduled to miss the first leg in Lisbon due to a red card. The Real Madrid forward received two yellow cards in stoppage time, protesting the decision to disallow a Real Madrid goal due to an error by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who ultimately scored the winning goal. However, according to the Spanish newspaper Marca, UEFA imposed an additional one-match suspension for 'using abusive and offensive language towards referees', meaning he will also miss the second leg. He will join Jude Bellingham in the list of absentees, who has been confirmed to miss a month due to a knee ligament tear. However, the good news for Arbeloa is that Real Madrid expects the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rüdiger, and Ferland Mendy within the next two weeks, which will ease their defensive problems. Militão will continue his recovery, but Arbeloa can count on Dean Huizen and Rüdiger, who are one of the best central defensive pairs in his team.
