Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid: Immediate reunion on the cards as Los Blancos learn Champions League playoff fate

Real Madrid will take on either Bodo/Glimt or Benfica in the Champions League knockout round playoffs, having missed out on a top-eight spot in the overall table.

Alvaro Arbeloa's side suffered a 4-2 defeat to Benfica in their final league stage clash on Wednesday night, with the result seeing Los Blancos finish ninth in the table.

As a result, Los Blancos will now take on either Bodo/Glimt or Benfica once again in the knockout round playoffs, with the draw to be held on Friday.

The first leg will be played away on February 17 or 18, before the return fixture at Bernabeu on February 24 or 25, and it would be a huge shock if the kings of European football were not present in the last-16 stage of the tournament.

Arbeloa admitted that his side were well short of the standard required following the loss to Benfica, with the standout moment in that contest coming late on - the home side's goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring a late goal to allow the Portuguese giants to sneak into the final playoff position in the table.

Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid: Los Blancos to face Bodo/Glimt or Benfica in Champions League playoffs

"I don't regret any message because it's what I believe. If your reflection is that today's game was like that because the two up front didn't run enough I don't agree at all," Arbeloa told reporters.

“Obviously, today we were far from what we wanted to be, given the difficulty of the match, the demands of our opponents, the atmosphere, what they were playing for, and what we were playing for. I don't think we were able to play 90 minutes at the level we needed to be.

"Before coming here we knew we had a lot to work on, a lot to improve and we are aware that we still have a lot to do. To win this kind of game you have to do a lot of things well, not just one, and you have to do them for 90 minutes.

"It's not the first time a goalkeeper has scored against me. Obviously, they had to take a risk, we were playing with two players less and we also needed to score a goal to be in the top eight. They took a risk, we took a risk and in the end they won.

Arbeloa disappointed with Real Madrid's performance against Benfica

"I am responsible for the defeat, just as I was in Albacete. I don't know if you've been to those two press conferences, but I said it and I'll say it again: I feel totally responsible when things don't go well and we don't achieve the objective we had.

"It's not that we have been eliminated from the Champions League. We have two games ahead of us and with the objective of going through to the next round, we are going to face it.

"We lacked a lot of things. It was a Champions League match, at Champions League level, against a team that we knew was playing for their lives, that needed to win, that needed to win in front of their own fans, and that not only showed intensity, but also defended very well, attacked very well and for us, as I said before, I can't give you a single reason.

"I think we lacked a lot of footballing things to have taken the three points, to have won the game and to have beaten Benfica today."

Real Madrid will be aiming to bounce back from the disappointing result when they continue their La Liga campaign against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday afternoon.