Federico Valverde threaded a pass that let Vinicius beat the offside trap and score in the 80th minute to settle the tie, with VAR disallowing an earlier Arda Guler goal for offside.
Real Madrid achieved revenge against Benfica. They nearly faced elimination, but secured a comeback victory and continued their quest for the title.
Real Madrid defeated Benfica 2-1 in the second leg of the 2025-2026 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 playoff held at the Estadio Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain.
With this victory, Real Madrid secured their place in the round of 16 with a 3-1 aggregate score, including a 1-0 first-leg victory. This victory avenged their surprise defeat to Benfica in the league phase.
The first leg between the two teams was particularly controversial, with Vinicius Junior claiming he was racially abused by Benfica defender Gianluca Prestiani.
Real Madrid has advanced to the round of 16. Now, they will face either Sporting or Manchester City for a place in the quarterfinals. Real Madrid and Manchester City have faced each other for five consecutive seasons and six of the last seven, so all eyes are on whether they will clash again.
Real Madrid started with a 4-4-2 formation. Vinicius Junior-Raúl García, Eduardo Camavinga-Aurelien Chouameni-Arda Guiller-Federico Valverde, Álvaro Carreras-Antonio Rudiger-Raúl Asensio-Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Thibaut Courtois started.
Benfica started with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Vangelis Pavlidis, Andreas Cielderup, Rafa Silva, Richard Rios, Leandro Barreiro, Fredrik Olsnes, Samuel Dal, Nicolas Otamendi, Thomas Araujo, Amar Dedic and Anatoly Trubin started the game.
Benfica took the lead. In the 14th minute, Pavlidis cut into the right side of the box and attempted a low cross to the other side. Asensio tackled the ball, trying to clear it, but instead sent it towards his own goal. Courtois narrowly parried it, but the rebound was thumped home by Rapa.
The game was tied 1-1 on aggregate. However, Real Madrid quickly regained the lead. In the 16th minute of the first half, Chuameni scored with a precise right-footed shot from near the arc. It was the equalizer, coming just two minutes after conceding the goal.
Real Madrid, having gained the upper hand, continued to dominate the game. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Güler found the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed. A VAR review ruled it offside.
Real Madrid looked to add another goal. Two minutes into the second half, Valverde’s shot from the center of the box went wide right of the goal. Six minutes later, Asensio’s header from a corner kick also went wide.
Benfica countered. Midway through the second half, Cielderup, Rafa, and Rios each scored shots, but they were not enough to break through the defensive wall and Courtois. Real Madrid made a change in the 32nd minute, bringing on Franco Mastantuono and David Alaba.
Real Madrid sealed the victory. In the 35th minute of the second half, during a counterattack, Valverde passed the ball to Vinícius, who then drove the ball up and scored with a low shot.
Having scored in five consecutive official matches, he celebrated with a dance celebration, a move that had drawn strong criticism from Benfica in the first leg. The match ended in a Real Madrid victory.
