Vinicius hits winner as Real Madrid eliminate Benfica after racism row

MADRID: Vinicius Junior scored the winner on the night as Real Madrid beat Benfica 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, progressing 3-1 on aggregate to the last 16.
It was the Brazilian forward’s superb goal which separated the teams in a first leg marred by an incident of alleged racial abuse aimed at him by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, who denies it.
Jose Mourinho’s side were still alive in the play-off round tie and took the lead early on at the Santiago Bernabeu through Rafa Silva, although Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni swiftly levelled.
Benfica gave the record 15-time champions a rough ride but fittingly Vinicius, who never hides from the spotlight, scored on 80 minutes to effectively end the contest.
It was Portuguese coach Mourinho’s first time back at the Santiago Bernabeu since he coached Real Madrid from 2010-2013, but he could not lead his team from the dug-out because of suspension.
After a week dominated by the fall-out from the first leg, Vinicius lined up for Real Madrid alongside Gonzalo Garcia, who stepped in for injured French superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Benfica were without banned midfielder Prestianni, after an appeal against his provisional one-game sanction was turned down earlier on Wednesday, with UEFA still investigating the incident.
Madrid hung a large banner reading “no to racism” at one end, with the game played under the shadow of what happened last week in Lisbon.
There were boos for Vinicius from the visiting Benfica fans and he prodded wide in the early stages, appealing in vain for a penalty as Nicolas Otamendi collided with him after he got his shot away.
Benfica took a deserved lead in the 14th minute as Madrid defender Raul Asencio clumsily turned the ball toward his own goal.
Bel