WATCH: Mourinho celebrates in front of Real Madrid manager

If before the game the atmosphere between Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa and his former boss Jose Mourinho was one of utmost respect, it got lost a little somewhere in the emotion of the night on Wednesday. The Portuguese did try to play down his celebrations afterwards though.

The Eagles scored a dramatic 97th minute goal through goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to secure progression to the knockout phase of the Champions League, sparking wild celebrations at the Estadio da Luz. Mourinho celebrated with an almost trademark run down the touchline, gesturing to the crowd.

Mourinho celebrates in front of Arbeloa

Mourinho ended up right in front of the Real Madrid bench, and none other than Arbeloa, as he celebrated. The two had spoken highly of each other during their pre-match press conferences, but it must have been a bitter pill to swallow for the latter.

Como me alegro por él. Vaya demostración de fútbol de don José Mourinho

Arbeloa no tiene ni puta idea de por donde cae la lluvia, un siervo de los jugadorespic.twitter.com/YOU35keVb3

— Padronso (@TitoPadronso) January 28, 2026

Jose #Mourinho celebrated in Alvaro Arbeloa’s face last night – before apologising. His explanation below👇 #RealMadrid #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/hsk17KeKlC

— Football España (@footballespana_) January 29, 2026

Mourinho’s apology to Arbeloa

After the game, Mourinho did then apologise to Arbeloa, as could be seen in the footage. Diario AS quoted his response.

“I celebrated. But alvaro is a football man and he understood that in that moment, with the emotions, you forget he’s on the bench, that it’s Real Madrid, that Chendo is there, that your colleagues are there. You forget everything. And he told me not to worry.”

Mourinho still believes Real Madrid can win Champions League

The two may be reunited in the play-off round, depending on how the draw plays out. Benfica will take on one of Real Madrid or Inter, while Los Blancos will return to the Estadio da Luz, or clash with Bodo/Glimt. Mourinho would not be drawn on which of his former clubs he’d rather face.

“I can’t say one or the other (smiles). I like going to Madrid and I like going to Milan. Seeing friends is always a pleasure. Madrid and Inter are teams that can win the Champions League, and we, at most, can do something incredible like today. Madrid and Inter are among the top contenders. We aren’t, but we compete. We lost to Chelsea, but we competed. We lost to Juve, but we competed. We beat Madrid… It’s harder against two than against one, but football is football.”