Vinicius Junior found the net as Real Madrid booked their spot in the Champions League last 16 with a win over Benfica at the Bernabeu.
The Brazilian winger had been in the spotlight ahead of the match after alleging he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni during the first leg. Prestianni was later handed a one-match suspension, ruling him out of the return fixture, while Madrid supporters showed solidarity with Vinicius by displaying a “no to racism” banner before kick-off.
On the pitch, Vinicius shifted the attention back to football, sealing the win with a composed finish across goal 10 minutes from time to secure a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
Benfica had started brightly and took the lead early on when Rafa Silva reacted quickest to a loose ball after Thibaut Courtois denied an attempted clearance from Raul Asencio.
However, their advantage lasted only two minutes, as Aurelien Tchouameni curled in a superb effort from the edge of the box to score his first Champions League goal.
With Kylian Mbappe sidelined through injury, Madrid lacked some attacking sharpness, and Benfica looked capable of drawing level on aggregate.
But Vinicius maintained his red-hot form, netting his sixth goal in five games to send Madrid through, where they will face either Manchester City or Sporting CP in the next round.
