Vinicius Junior scored a brilliant goal to secure Real Madrid a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League play-off at Benfica on Tuesday, although the match was overshadowed by alleged racist abuse aimed at the Brazilian.
After curling a shot into the top corner in the 50th minute, Vinicius appeared to argue with Gianluca Prestianni before approaching French referee Francois Letexier, who paused the game for over 10 minutes while following the racism protocol.
Jose Mourinho was sent off late in the match for protesting too forcefully, meaning he will miss the second leg against his former club at the Santiago Bernabéu next week.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side earned a narrow, nervy win at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, gaining an advantage ahead of the return leg and avenging their dramatic 4-2 defeat by Benfica in the league earlier this season. That previous loss had dragged the 15-time European champions into the play-offs while helping Mourinho’s side scrape through.
This game, however, was a far more composed performance from Madrid, strengthened by the return of French star Kylian Mbappé, who missed the previous match due to knee discomfort.
Vinicius, in fine form since Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso in January, nearly created the first chance of the match, firing narrowly wide. Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a smart stop to deny a deflected effort from Fredrik Aursnes, as Benfica remained competitive.
Madrid’s quality began to shine before half-time, with Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who scored a stunning late goal when the sides met in January, keeping out chances from Mbappé and Arda Güler.
Trubin, however, could do nothing to stop Vinicius’s 50th-minute strike.
Racism protocol
With space on the left of the area, Vinicius curled a sublime effort into the top corner to give Madrid the lead. He was booked for celebrating in front of the home supporters.
This led to an exchange with Prestianni, who pulled his shirt over his mouth before seemingly saying something to Vinicius. The Brazilian then went to Letexier and, pointing at Prestianni, appeared to claim he had been called “mono”, the Spanish word for monkey.
The referee activated the racism protocol, and Vinicius sat in Madrid’s dugout while the match was halted for several minutes. When play resumed, he was jeered by Benfica fans and denied three further times by Trubin in the following minutes.
Mourinho was dismissed in the 85th minute for appealing a second yellow card for Vinicius, ruling him out of the bench at the Santiago Bernabéu, where he had managed Madrid from 2010 to 2013.
The stoppage led to 12 minutes of added time, but Benfica were unable to find an equaliser and now face a difficult task in Madrid next week.
