Real Madrid faced Benfica yesterday in the Champions League at the Bernabéu in a second leg of the play off round that brought together two teams that had already met on the final matchday of the group stage. Back then, the Portuguese side came out on top, but last week Los Blancos already took their revenge last week.
In the Portuguese capital, it was the team from Madrid that secured the win, 0:1 at the Estadio da Luz. However, after the match, very little was said about the result itself.
The only goal of the game was scored by Vinicius Jr, who curled the ball into the net with an incredible strike. The Brazilian celebrated with a dance, what should have been a moment of joy. But that feeling quickly changed, as he was reportedly subjected to racist abuse by Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni.
Vini Jr immediately reported the incident to the referee and even briefly left the pitch. It is a situation that should never happen in football, a sport where everyone is supposed to be equal. As a result, the discussion after the game and in the following days focused entirely on this regrettable incident.
At the press conference before the return leg, the topic once again dominated all questions., as there was hardly any attention for the tactical side of the match. My compatriot Thibaut Courtois handled the media and, as always, gave strong and composed answers. Head coach Álvaro Arbeloa made it clear that his team was fully ready for the game.
Real Madrid, and especially Vinicius Jr, were clearly determined to respond in the right way and show the world that racism has no place in society. The home side also had history on their side, as they had never lost at home to a Portuguese club in European competition.
The visitors from Lisbon had to deal with two notable absences. José Mourinho, former Real Madrid coach, was sent off during the first leg and suspended. In addition, UEFA also decided to suspend Prestianni for this match.
Benfica needed to overturn the deficit and made that very clear from the start. They began the game with great intensity, and in the 14th minute they even took the lead. After a misunderstanding between Raul Asensio and Thibaut Courtois on a cross from Vangelis Pavlidis, Rafa Silva only had to tap the ball into the net.
It was a deserved lead for the visitors, but it did not last long. Less than two minutes later, Aurélien Tchouaméni equalized. After a combination on the right, the ball reached him via Federico Valverde, and the Frenchman fired a great shot from outside the box past Anatoly Trubin. Taking last week’s result into account, Real Madrid were back in front overall.
Benfica did not seem shaken by the equalizer and continued with their aggressive pressing and attacking play. However, that approach also left space at the back. Arda Güler nearly took advantage, but the young Turkish player saw his goal ruled out for offside by just a few centimeters.
Both teams went into the break at with a 1:1. Benfica started strongly and created several chances, but Real Madrid gradually took control as the first half went on.
The visitors had played an excellent first half, but it appeared to cost them a lot of energy. In the second half, Real Madrid became more dominant. Trent Alexander Arnold came close to scoring his first goal for the club but missed the target. At the other end, Rafa Silva nearly scored again, but his shot out the box hit the crossbar.
The home team took complete control, and the visitors’ hopes vanished by the minute. The decisive moment came in the 80th minute. After a brilliant through ball from Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr ran through on goal from the left. He kept his composure and placed the ball perfectly into the right corner. Just like last week, he celebrated with a dance, this time receiving a huge applause from the home crowd. The perfect answer from the Brazilian.
That goal sealed the tie. Real Madrid won 2:1 on the night and even 3:1 on aggregate, securing their place in the round of 16 for the 22nd consecutive season. Since the introduction of this stage, Los Blancos are the only club to have qualified every single year.
In the next round, they will face either Manchester City or Sporting Lisbon. After the match, Thibaut Courtois told the media he expects Pep Guardiola’s side to be their opponent. The draw will take place on Friday in Nyon, Switzerland, where all the fixtures for the next round of the Champions League will be decided.
