Vinícius Júnior overcame loud boos from traveling Benfica fans to seal Real Madrid’s progress to the Champions League last 16 at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
The Brazilian raced clear and side-footed past the Benfica goalkeeper in the 80th minute to clinch a 2-1 victory for the record 15-time European champions in the second leg of their playoff tie to progress 3-1 on aggregate.
– Kylian Mbappé (knee) out for Real Madrid vs. Benfica
Vinícius was attracting most of the attention at the Bernabeu following what happened in the first leg in Lisbon last week, when he accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him after the Madrid star scored the 1-0 winner and celebrated by the Benfica corner flag.
Vinícius again danced by the corner flag after scoring on Wednesday, this time amid cheers from the home supporters.
The more than 3,000 Benfica fans at the Bernabeu jeered nearly every time Vinícius touched the ball. They celebrated when he lost control of the ball early in the game. The Benfica supporters also booed emphatically when the name of the Brazilian player was announced in the starting lineup ahead of the match.
The boos gradually lost force as the match went on.
Rafa Silva leveled the tie on aggregate when he opened the scoring in the 14th minute but Aurélien Tchouaméni restored Madrid’s advantage just two minutes later.
Vinícius participated in the buildup of what would have been Madrid’s second goal but it was disallowed for offside. It was Madrid’s star forward, though, who had the final word of the contentious matchup.
Prestianni, who has denied racially insulting Vinícius and has been defended by Benfica, was provisionally suspended one match by UEFA and did not play on Wednesday even though the Argentine traveled to the Spanish capital. UEFA earlier Wednesday rejected Benfica’s last-minute appeal against the provisional suspension.
Last week’s match was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the referee installed the anti-racism protocol following Vinícius’ complaint to him.
A few Benfica fans were seen doing monkey gestures from the stands after the match at the Stadium of Light last week.
Before Wednesday’s match, Madrid fans displayed a banner saying “No To Racism.” A “respect” banner also was shown behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.
Madrid fans also jeered when Benfica central defender Nicolás Otamendi touched the ball. Otamendi, who is also Argentine, was one of the players that confronted Vinícius after the Brazilian’s celebration by the Benfica flag.
Also missing for Benfica was coach José Mourinho, the former Madrid coach who sent off late in the first leg for complaining to the referee. Mourinho did not participate in the pre-game news conference on Tuesday, and was expected to watch the match from the stands at the Bernabeu.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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