Vinicius Jr Seals Real Madrid’s Last-16 Spot After Emotional Night at Bernabeu

Vinicius Jr rose above the noise to send Real Madrid into the Champions League last 16 with a decisive goal against Benfica at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

The Brazilian forward had been at the center of attention before kick-off after alleging he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni during the first leg. In that earlier match, Vinicius scored the only goal. Prestianni was later given a one-match ban and did not feature in the return fixture. Before the game began, home supporters displayed a banner reading “no to racism” in Spanish, offering visible support to their star winger.

Once the match started, the focus quickly turned back to football.

Benfica struck first in the 14th minute when Rafa Silva reacted fastest to a loose ball inside the penalty area. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had just stopped Raúl Asencio’s attempted clearance from ending up in his own net, but the rebound fell kindly for Rafa to slot home.

The lead, however, lasted only two minutes. Aurelien Tchouameni brought the hosts level with a superb curling strike from the edge of the box — his first goal in the Champions League.

Real Madrid were missing the injured Kylian Mbappe, and at times they lacked sharpness in attack. Benfica continued to push forward and looked capable of leveling the tie on aggregate.

But with 10 minutes remaining, Vinicius delivered the decisive moment. Driving into space, he fired a clinical finish across the goalkeeper to seal a 3-1 aggregate victory. It was his sixth goal in five matches, underlining his excellent recent form.

The final whistle confirmed Madrid’s place in the next round, where they will face either Manchester City or Sporting CP.

On a night charged with emotion, Vinicius ensured the lasting memory was not controversy, but a match-winning performance that kept Madrid’s European campaign alive.