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.
2025/2026 UEFA Champions League
0-1
Tuesday's match was overshadowed by an racism indicent 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 by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni 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.
Line-ups
Benfica XI: Otamendi, Fredrik Aursnes, Rafa Silva, Vangelis Pavlidis, Leandro Barreiro, Amar Dedić, Anatoliy Trubin, Samuel Dahl, Tomás Araújo, Andreas Schjelderup, Gianluca Prestianni
Subs: Bruma, Dodi Lukébakio, Alexander Bah, G. Sudakov, Enzo Barrenechea, Richard Ríos, Manu Silva, Sidny Lopes Cabral, António Silva, Franjo Ivanović, Diogo Ferreira, Anísio Cabral
Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Rudiger, Alexander-Arnold, Mbappe, Valverde, Tchouameni, Vinicius, Camavinga, Güler, Álvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen
Subs: Alaba, Carvajal, F Mendy, Ceballos, Brahim, Lunin, Fran García, Gonzalo García, Franco Mastantuono, Joan Martínez, Jorge Cestero, Thiago Pitarch