Vinicius Jr was on course as Actual Madrid booked their place within the final 16 of the Champions League after defeating Benfica on the Bernabeu.
The Brazilian ahead had been on the centre of consideration earlier than the match. Within the first leg, he alleged that he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni shortly after scoring. Prestianni later acquired a one-match suspension and was absent for the return fixture.
Earlier than kick-off in Madrid, dwelling supporters displayed a banner studying “No to racism” in Spanish, displaying their backing for Vinicius.
When the match started, the winger let his soccer do the speaking. With 10 minutes remaining, he calmly fired the ball previous the goalkeeper to seal a 3–1 combination win for Los Blancos.
Benfica had began brightly and took the lead within the 14th minute. Rafa Silva reacted shortly to a unfastened ball after Thibaut Courtois stopped Raúl Asencio’s tried clearance from ending up in his personal internet.
Nevertheless, their benefit lasted solely two minutes. Aurelien Tchouameni responded with an outstanding strike from exterior the field to attain his first Champions League aim.
Actual Madrid had been with out the injured Kylian Mbappe and at occasions felt his absence in assault, as Benfica continued to threaten and looked for a approach again into the tie.
In the long run, Vinicius’ decisive aim — his sixth in 5 matches — ensured Actual Madrid progressed. They are going to now put together to face both Manchester Metropolis or Sporting within the subsequent spherical.
