Real Madrid Vs Benfica: real madrid vs benfica ends 2-1 as Vinicius Jnr sends Madrid through

Real Madrid progressed to the Champions League last 16 after a 2-1 home win over Benfica, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory in a tie overshadowed by an alleged racial incident. The real madrid vs benfica clash saw Vinicius Jnr score the decisive goal and headlines over a provisional suspension handed to Gianluca Prestianni.

Real Madrid Vs Benfica match details

Benfica struck first in Madrid through Rafa Silva after 14 minutes, but Aurelien Tchouameni levelled with a first-half equaliser to put Real back in contention. Vinicius Jnr sealed the tie with an 80th-minute goal, a strike that gave Real breathing space in the tie and left the Spanish side through 3-1 on aggregate. The return win was 2-1 on the night. Real will now play either Sporting Lisbon or Man City in the last 16. The match was played at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Real fans held up banners with messages of support for Vinicius before kick-off and a banner with the words "no to racism" in Spanish was displayed in the stands.

First leg incident and sanction

The first leg in Lisbon was halted for around 10 minutes after Vinicius Jnr alleged he was racially abused by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni. Vinicius had put Real ahead with a wonderful individual strike, curling the ball home from a tight angle five minutes into the second half, celebrated in front of the home fans, then became suddenly and visibly upset about something said to him and immediately informed the referee. The Brazilian left the field and refused to return, resulting in a 10-minute stoppage of play in last Tuesday's first leg. Prestianni has denied racially abusing Vinicius.

UEFA appointed an ethics and disciplinary investigator (EDI) following the first leg and imposed a provisional sanction on Prestianni on Monday, ruling him out of the return tie despite the Argentinian winger having travelled to Madrid as part of the Benfica squad. Benfica appealed against the decision to ban Prestianni, but UEFA dismissed the Portuguese club's case on Wednesday afternoon. UEFA said on Monday the imposition of a provisional suspension was "without prejudice to any ruling that the UEFA disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and its respective submission to the UEFA disciplinary bodies. " Article 1 also described Prestianni as subsequently being handed a one-match ban, meaning he missed Wednesday's return leg.

Penalty patterns and referee record

Pre-match betting analysis highlighted a market for a penalty being awarded, with a 7/4 quote for "A PENALTY AWARDED IN THE MATCH" and a 1. 5pts recommendation. One reason was recent penalty frequency: across Benfica's last 15 matches a penalty had been awarded in eight, seven of which were in Benfica's favour, while the same eight-in-15 figure applied to Real Madrid. One of those matches was Benfica's 4-2 league-stage win over Real. Real also sit second to Newcastle for penalties scored in this season's competition, taking that place after converting two against Qarabag. Referee Slavko Vincic has awarded 12 penalties across 23 games this season, with one given in 39% of his outings; for context the Premier League average was around 21% last season. Given the significance of a close tie, the preview favoured one of the teams being given a chance from the spot.

Reactions and quotes after tie

Aurelien Tchouameni called the result "a victory for everyone who stands against racism" and said: "I think there are more important things than this match, than football. " He added: "Vinicius keeps his confidence and he keeps focused on what he needs to do. I think they made the right decision by not letting the boy [Prestianni] play this match. Like I said, there are things more important than football and this is a victory for all of us. "

Trent Alexander-Arnold, described as a Real Madrid and England defender, said Vinicius had been "very chilled" and "very relaxed" before the fixture and that: "He didn't need to score to send a message or show his mentality. He doesn't need to prove anything to anyone because he's shown time and time again how good he is. He steps up when we need him the most. He knows his quality and what he brings to the team. " Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa said: "[I reacted] with joy obviously, for the great goal he scored, and because it was him, he deserves it. " Former Chelsea forward Joe Cole said: "He was brilliant over both legs. His finish was superb. "

Vinicius celebrated his first-leg goal by dancing near the corner flag and reproduced the same celebration on Wednesday after his 80th-minute strike; the Brazilian posted on social media after the match that "the dance goes on. " Benfica boss Jose Mourinho was roundly criticised for his comments about the incident after the game and did not conduct the usual pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

Gambling advice and support

The preview included a reminder on safer gambling: recommended bets are advised to over-18s and readers are strongly encouraged to wager only what they can afford to lose. If you are concerned about your gambling, call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133. Further support and information can be found at begambleaware. org and gamblingtherapy. org.

Real Madrid progressed after the real madrid vs benfica tie finished 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate; Vinicius Jnr's decisive goal and a first-leg controversy over Gianluca Prestianni's alleged abuse defined the tie as Madrid move into the last 16.