Vinicius Junior scored a glorious winner as Real Madrid defeated Benfica 1-0 in a bad-tempered first leg of their Champions League play-off tie at the Estadio da Luz.
Tuesday’s match was overshadowed by chaotic scenes as the action was paused for 10 minutes in the immediate aftermath of Vinicius’ 50th-minute strike.
The Brazilian appeared outraged at something that was said to him and briefly sat down in the dugout, seemingly unwilling to continue, though he returned to play the remainder of the match, which also saw Benfica boss Jose Mourinho sent to the stands.
Madrid started slowly but were knocking furiously on the door by the end of the first half, with several good chances coming and going.
Vinicius shot wide on the turn before teeing up Kylian Mbappe with a lovely backheel, only for the Frenchman – who had previously failed to make contact with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s searching delivery – to fluff his lines.
Mbappe was also denied by Anatoliy Trubin after skipping onto his left foot inside a crowded penalty area, with the Ukrainian later tipping Arda Guler’s drive around the right post to keep it goalless at half-time.
But Madrid finally made the breakthrough in stunning fashion after the interval, with Vinicius stepping inside Amar Dedic and curling home from near the left corner of the box.
There was a lengthy stoppage immediately after the goal, though, with Vinicius running over to referee Francois Letexier following an interaction with Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, with the officials stopping the game in line with UEFA’s protocol for players raising allegations of racist abuse.
Madrid continued to dominate after play resumed, with Vinicius seeing another wicked effort parried by Trubin, and tensions boiled over on the Benfica bench when Mourinho saw red with five minutes to play, having talked himself into two cautions two seconds apart.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) February 17, 2026
Data Debrief: Vinicius passes Kaka
The post-match headlines will likely focus on the ugly scenes that followed Vinicius’ goal, while the Brazilian was also struck by a bottle thrown from the crowd while waiting to take a corner deep into 13 minutes of stoppage time.
But as far as on-pitch matters are concerned, Vinicius showed his quality with a sublime goal – his 31st outright in the Champions League.
That saw him overtake Kaka (30) to become the second-highest scoring Brazilian in the competition, with only Neymar (43) netting more among his countrymen.
Madrid ended the game with 16 shots to Benfica’s 10, also winning the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.11 to 0.41.
