Aurelien Tchouameni and Vinicius Jr. scored to help Real Madrid fight back for a 2-1 win over Benfica on Wednesday and book their Champions League last-16 spot with a 3-1 aggregate win in the knockout round playoff.
Real brought a 1-0 aggregate lead into this match after the first-leg, where football was not the centre of attention as Vinicius accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of directing a racist slur at him.
Prestianni denies the charge, but was provissionally suspended by UEFA for this match regardless.
Benfica started brightly against an injury-hit Real side, who were without Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Dean Huijsen, among others.
The Eagles went ahead in the 14th minute when Rafa Silva reacted quickest to turn in a rebound from close range, teed up as Raul Asencio deflected a cross goalwards and drew Thibaut Courtois out of position.
But Real responded almost immediately. Gonzalo Garcia combined neatly with Federico Valverde on the right wing and the Uruguayan cut the ball back to Tchouameni, who guided a low shot inside the right post in the 16th minute.
The tie remained in the balance until the 80th minute when Valverde won a loose ball in midfield and released Vinicius with a precise pass.
The Brazilian forward beat the offside trap, surged into the box and slotted into the far corner to send the record 15-time European champions into the next round, producing the same celebration which caught so much criticism in Portugal last week.
Real Madrid will now face Manchester City or Sporting Lisbon in the round of 16, with their opponent to be decided at Friday’s draw.
