Real Madrid lead Benfica 1-0 after the first leg in Lisbon, but Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League round of 32 meeting was overshadowed by Gianluca Prestianni’s alleged racist abuse of Brazilian superstar Vinicius Junior.
MORE — UEFA Champions League playoff schedule
Vinicius scored a spectacular goal to break the deadlock in the 50th minute, cutting in from the left wing and uncorking a curler inside the far post from an unlikely angle just inside the penalty area. Vinicius wheeled away and celebrated with a dance on the corner flag, at which point one or two Benfica players were visibly bothered by the scene and let him know about it.
As the situation lingered around the center circle ahead of the restart, Prestianni could be seen covering his mouth with his shirt and saying something to Vinicius as he walked away from the Argentine. Vinicius instantly snapped his head around and darted toward referee Francois Letexier, pointing at Prestianni. The game was stopped for more than 10 minutes as the referee talked to players and coaches from both sides, but it did little to defuse the tension. Eventually, the game restarted and both Vinicius and Prestianni remained on the field, on the same side.
Benfica’s fans would go on to whistle loudly at Vinicius every time he touched the ball for the rest of the game, and he was then struck on the arm by a bottle thrown from the stands while waiting to take a corner kick in stoppage time.
Real Madrid will host Benfica for the second leg next Wednesday.
Benfica vs Real Madrid live updates - by Andy Edwards
Benfica vs Real Madrid final score: 0-1
Goalscorers: Vinicius Junior (50')
Play has restarted after discussions between referee, players, managers (60')
Vinicius and Prestianni are both still on the field.
Game halted after Vinicius Junior reported being racially abused (52')
After Vinicius scored the opening goal and went to the corner flag to celebrate, one or two Benfica players were chirping at Vinicius for the nature of his dancing celebration. After a minute or two, the Brazilian instantly sprinted to French referee Francois Letexier, pointing at Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni, and reported that a racist comment had been made by the Argentine. 10 minutes after the ball hit the back of the net, the game is yet to restart.
GOAL! Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid: Vinicius opens the scoring with an absolute beauty (50')
VINI JR GOLAZO 😮💨☄️ pic.twitter.com/D09tF4XHhv
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 17, 2026
Benfica starting XI
Trubin - Dedic, Araujo, Otamendi, Dahl - Aursnes, Barreiro, Silva - Prestianni, Schjelderup, Pavlidis
Real Madrid starting XI
Courtois - Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras - Tchouameni, Camavinga, Valverde, Guler - Mbappe, Vinicius
How to watch Benfica vs Real Madrid live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday (February 17)
Venue: Estadio da Luz — Lisbon, Portugal
TV Channel/Streaming: Paramount+
But they did beat Real Madrid 4-2 in a dramatic league phase finale just a few weeks ago, with goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scoring the all-important last-gasp goal which sealed their spot in the playoff round by one goal. And now they get to play Real Madrid again. Twice. Mourinho will relish the role of the underdog and after a torrid start to the Champions League this season, Benfica see progression to the knockout rounds as a huge bonus.
Real Madrid will be wary of an upset but in reality they’ll look to build a healthy lead to take back to the Santiago Bernabeu and then finish off the job with minimum fuss to reach the last 16. Alvaro Arbeloa has done pretty well since replacing Xabi Alonso as Real are top of La Liga by two points but have played a game more than Barcelona. If you take that defeat at Benfica away they’ve won the other six games in their last seven, scoring 20 goals across those seven games as Kylian Mbappe is flying.
Benfica team news, focus
Mourinho has overseen a dramatic turnaround at Benfica since arriving at his boyhood club in September. Benfica still sit seven points behind leaders Porto but they haven’t lost a game in the league this season. In the Champions League they won three of their final four league phase games to reach the playoff round on goal difference, beating Ajax, Napoli and Real Madrid in a sensational run. Now it’s all about keeping it as tight as possible against Real, which Mourinho is very good at doing, and hoping center forward Vangelis Pavlidis, playmaker Heorhiy Sudakov and winger Andreas Schjelderup can do the business on the counter.
Real Madrid team news, focus
Arbeloa’s side breezed past Real Sociedad 4-1 at home at the weekend, with some key players rested. Jude Bellingham, Eder Militao and Rodrygo remain out injured, while Kylian Mbappe is available but was rested at the weekend. The main issue for Real under Xabi Alonso was the lack of defensive options due to injuries but Rudiger, Alexander-Arnold and Huijsen are all back and that has been a big reason why Real’s form has picked up. Raul Asencio is suspended.
Benfica vs Real Madrid prediction
This feels like a Mourinho special coming up and Benfica will be full of confidence after beating Real 4-2 just a few weeks ago. Go for a draw. Benfica 2-2 Real Madrid.
