Vinicius nets as Real Madrid win grudge match against Benfica; PSG edge Monaco
Feb 27, 2026
Berlin [Germany], February 27: Vinicius Junior scored as Real Madrid joined Atalanta, Galatasaray and holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, a week after alleged racism towards the forward marred the first leg with Benfica.
Juventus almost pulled off a minor miracle after being harshly reduced to 10 men in their play-off second leg, but two extra-time goals put Galatasaray through 7-5 on aggregate after a 3-2 loss.
Madrid fans unveiled a huge banner before kick-off which read "No to racism" after Vinicius said he was racially abused by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni in the Spaniards' 1-0 win in Lisbon last week.
Prestianni denies wrongdoing but was still provisionally banned for the second leg, which Madrid won 2-1, as UEFA rejected his appeal.
His side took a shock lead at the Bernabeu through Rafa Silva but Aurelien Tchouameni quickly equalized on 16 minutes with his first Champions League goal.
Benfica boss Jose Mourinho, widely slammed for his criticism of Vinicius in the first leg, made his former side sweat but the Brazil striker had the last laugh in a 3-1 aggregate success.
"He had a great game, really throwing the opposition off balance, scoring a goal and creating danger," Madrid boss Álvaro Arbeloa said of Vinicius, who led the line in the injury absence of Kylian Mbappe.
Mixed emotions for Italians
A debatable penalty in stoppage time helped Atalanta dramatically dump Borussia Dortmund out as the Italians overturned a first-leg deficit to march into the last 16.
The Germans were favourites after their 2-0 win at home last week.
But they could not cope with Atalanta's verve or their own frailties as Gianluca Scamacca, Davide Zappacosta and Mario Pa?ali? put the hosts 3-0 up.
Karim Adeyemi levelled the tie in style before Dortmund team mate Ramy Bensebaini, the fall guy all night, was adjudged to have conceded a spot-kick when clearing the ball and Lazar Samard?i? converted eight minutes into stoppage time.
The Italians won 4-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate to leave Dortmund seething at themselves and the match officials.
"When you concede four goals in a play-off, it's hard to go through," Dortmund's Emre Can told DAZN.
"When you make so many individual errors, it is tough to progress. We were unlucky but deserved not to go through. I don't know if it was a penalty to be honest."
It means an all-German last 16 clash is no longer certain in Friday's draw, with Bayern Munich facing either Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen, who got past Olympiacos Piraeus in their play-off on Tuesday.
In Turin, Manuel Locatelli's penalty boosted Juve in the first half but their faint hopes looked to be over after a highly debatable red card for centre half Lloyd Kelly.
However, Federico Gatti struck and Juve were level on aggregate through Weston McKennie on 82. The Turks had no answer until ex-Napoli star Victor Osimhen and Bar?? Alper Y?lma netted in extra-time with Juve tiring.
Italy was at risk of having no teams in the first knock-out round proper for the first time since 1988 after Bodø/Glimt humiliated last season's runners-up and Serie A leaders Inter on Tuesday. Atalanta will carry the flag.
PSG were 3-2 up from the first leg in Monaco, but went behind to their Ligue 1 rivals at the Parc des Princes when Maghnes Akliouche was given too much time to score.
Two quick-fire bookings for Mamadou Coulibaly on the hour opened the door for PSG and veteran captain Marquinhos soon tapped in.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Jordan Teze traded goals for 2-2 as the holders' 5-4 aggregate win set up a mouth-watering last 16 meeting with Barcelona or Chelsea.
On Tuesday, Newcastle United and Atletico Madrid also went through to the last 16, with the first legs on March 10 and 11.
Source: Qatar Tribune