Vinicius Junior sealed Real Madrid’s progress to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday with the clincher against Benfica, while holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) edged out 10-man Ligue 1 rivals Monaco.
Italian giants Juventus almost pulled off a stunning comeback from their 5-2 first leg deficit against Galatasaray, but extra-time goals from Victor Osimhen and Baris Yilmaz gave the Turks a 7-5 aggregate victory, while Lazar Samardzic’s injury-time spot-kick put Atalanta through 4-3 on aggregate against Borussia Dortmund.
Vinicius scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory on the night to secure a 3-1 aggregate success for Real in the play-off tie in Madrid.
A week on from the racism furore in the first leg in Lisbon, Vinicius provided the perfect riposte as the man he accused of racial abuse, Argentine midfielder Gianluca Prestianni sat out the match with a provisional ban imposed by UEFA.
Benfica coach Jose Mourinho was also suspended for the match against his former employers but his side briefly gave him hope of a shock result.
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Rafa Silva gave Benfica a deserved lead on 14 minutes, but two minutes later, Aurelien Tchouameni levelled things up on the night with a crisp finish from Federico Valverde’s cutback.
With strike-partner Kylian Mbappe injured, Vinicius then stole the limelight, breaking clear 11 minutes from time to fire across goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin and into the far corner.
Tchouameni called it “a victory over racism”.
PSG overcame a first-half scare to beat Monaco 5-4 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at the Parc des Princes.
Ten-man Juventus’s hopes of pulling off a stunning comeback came up short despite beating Galatasaray 3-2 after extra time in Turin, while Serbian midfielder Samardzic’s last-gasp penalty earned Atalanta a 4-1 victory on the night at home to Dortmund.
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