Vinicius strike sends Real Madrid into Champions League Last 16

Real Madrid advanced to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League after a 3-1 aggregate victory over Benfica at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Vinicius Junior scoring the decisive goal.

The Brazilian forward had been at the centre of attention before the match after alleging he was racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni during the first leg.

Prestianni was handed a one-match ban and did not feature in the return fixture. Supporters displayed a banner reading “no to racism” in Spanish prior to kick-off.

Benfica strike first

Benfica made an assertive start and opened the scoring in the 14th minute through Rafa Silva, who converted after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had blocked an attempted clearance from Raúl Asencio that risked becoming an own goal.

Real Madrid responded within two minutes. Aurelien Tchouameni curled in a strike from the edge of the area to level the match and register his first Champions League goal.

Vinicius delivers

With the tie finely balanced, Madrid were without injured forward Kylian Mbappé and at times lacked fluency in attack.

Benfica continued to threaten as they chased an equaliser on aggregate.

However, Vinicius Jr settled the contest with 10 minutes remaining, driving a composed finish across goal to secure victory on the night and progression overall. The goal marked his sixth in five matches.

Real Madrid will now face either Manchester City or Sporting CP in the round of 16.