Vinícius Júnior ran to the corner and danced again, just as he had done in Lisbon a week ago, but this time all around him there was celebration. There was also relief. With 10 minutes left on a nervous night at the Santiago Bernabéu, he had been set free to put the ball past Anatoliy Trubin and Real Madrid into the last 16 of the Champions League.
Victory was his, 2-1 here, 3-1 on aggregate and well beyond that too, so he set off and shook his hips before the flag the same way he had eight days earlier, fans released from their fears, applauding, a point proved and passage secured. “I’m happy for him: he deserved it,” the Real head coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, said.
One-nil up from a first leg in Lisbon that had been overshadowed by allegations that Vinícius had been racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, Madrid had trailed the second leg by an early Rafa Silva goal and although they equalised through Aurélien Tchouaméni within 165 seconds, an uneasy night ensued in which they did not feel safe until the Brazilian’s late goal. In the end though, with the suspended Prestianni and José Mourinho absent and nowhere to be seen, with Kylian Mbappé also missing because of a knee injury, an impressive performance from Benfica was not quite enough. It is Madrid who will play Sporting or Manchester City.
“People are so used to seeing Madrid-City; what is it, six years? I’m sure it will happen again,” Arbeloa said. “Let’s see what the hot balls have waiting for us.”
Prestianni watched this from the team hotel, Benfica’s appeal over his ban having failed. As for Mourinho, Madrid had facilitated radio cabin No 6 on the eighth floor but he chose not to take up the offer. Instead, upon his return to the Santiago Bernabéu 13 years later, he followed from a quiet place lower in the stadium that was once his, with reports suggesting he had retreated to the team bus with an iPad. The assistant coach João Tralhão refused to confirm that, saying it did not matter; what mattered was that they had been in “synchronicity”.
Wherever he was, Mourinho saw his team take the lead on 14 minutes and take the game to Madrid but eventually fall short. “Mourinho and I were in contact and share the same feeling: frustration and pride, we think we could have won and could have gone through,” Tralhão said, describing Madrid’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois as a “giant” who had prevented the Portuguese side from taking a deserved prize.
The opener had been some move, certainly, a minute’s worth of possession in which Benfica went from their area to deep inside Madrid’s. A diagonal ball from the impressive Fredrik Aursnes opened the pitch out, spreading play to the other side where, not for the first time, Amar Didic dashed inside. Ricardo Rios’s sharp pass round the corner put Vangelis Pavlidis in and although his ball across was met by Raúl Asencio, sliding in, the Madrid defender managed only to send it towards his own goal. Courtois saved but Rafa Silva scrambled over the line. High in the north stand 4,000 Benfica fans, who could already be heard as much as the home supporters, went wild.
Nor was it just the goal. Benfica had started well here, moving through the middle with a degree of freedom, Didic in particular. One run from him ended with Andreas Schjelderup hitting the side netting while Silva had toe-poked, futsal style, at Courtois. And yet the lead did not last long. Two minutes later, Madrid were level, 2-1 up on aggregate. A gift from Nicolas Otamendi saw Tchouaméni pass right and kept on running. Arda Güler and Fede Valverde combined to return it to him and he bent in a smooth finish before heading to the corner and gesturing for calm.
That was a useful message, but Madrid are rarely reliable enough to feel entirely free of danger and a long ball into the wide space behind Trent Alexander-Arnold almost saw them undone again quickly. Schjelderup, superb throughout, ran clear and his pass went through the legs of Pavlidis and across the six‑yard box. So, too, did the corner after Leandro Barreiro had exchanged slick passes with Silva and almost scored.
Madrid thought they had scored too when Güler struck under Trubin soon after, but the video assistant referee had seen an offside and Benfica kept coming. An astonishing stop from Courtois denied Rios and as the second half progressed frustration and even the occasional whistle crept in from home fans who have seen similar too often this season. Asencio headed over and Alexander Arnold flashed wide but it was Schjelderup and Silva who stood out, another run from the former leading to the latter hitting the bar. Then Tchouaméni lost possession to Aursnes and Pavlidis’s deflected shot, set up by Silva, skidded just past the post.
The nerves grew until they were replaced by concern when Asencio was carried off on a stretcher and in a neck brace after a clash with Eduardo Camavinga and eventually relief. Time was passing, Madrid edging closer, but not with much conviction. Until, suddenly, there it was. Tomas Araujo misjudged a ball to nowhere, leaving his post at the back and losing out in the centre circle. Valverde got there fast and released Vinícius who raced away for the last dance.
