Allegations of racism mar Real Madrid triumph as PSG secure comeback victory in Champions League
Vinicius Junior netted the decisive goal but later claimed he suffered racial abuse in Real Madrids 1-0 triumph at Benfica in the opening leg of their Champions League playoff clash on Tuesday. At the same time Paris Saint-Germain fought back from two goals behind to overcome Monaco 3-2.
In other action Galatasaray delivered a shock result by defeating Juventus 5-2 in Istanbul while Borussia Dortmund took control against Atalanta with a 2-0 win in the first leg.
Real Madrid travelled to Lisbon to face Benfica under three weeks after a tense 4-2 loss to the same team where goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin netted a dramatic late strike to advance the Portuguese club to the knockout rounds and drop Real into the playoffs.
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho sought to motivate his current squad to repeat the success against the team he led from 2010 to 2013 but the evening was dominated by the reported racist incident involving Vinicius.
The Brazilian forward struck a brilliant effort early in the second half curling the ball into the top corner. Yet his fine moment turned contentious when he received a yellow card for celebrating with a dance in front of the supporters.
The caution triggered a confrontation with Benficas Gianluca Prestianni who covered his mouth with his shirt before seemingly speaking to Vinicius.
Vinicius then approached referee Francois Letexier and gesturing towards Prestianni appeared to accuse him of using the word mono the Spanish term for monkey.
This caused a delay of several minutes before play continued with the home crowd booing Vinicius.
Mourinho was dismissed late in the heated match for protesting too strongly while seeking a second booking for Vinicius which means he will miss the return fixture at the Bernabeu next week.
The extended interruption resulted in 12 minutes of stoppage time but Benfica failed to level the score and now face a tough challenge in Madrid.
What occurred is
something unpleasant that no one wants you must question the Benfica player about his words Real manager Alvaro Arbeloa stated to broadcaster Movistar.
Racism is an issue we need to remove from football entirely and if players do not address it then it becomes very difficult.
Galatasaray stun Juventus
In Monaco the defending European champions PSG bounced back from a poor opening as Desire Doue drove the recovery from two goals down against the home side.
US talent Folarin Balogun struck first after only 55 seconds and added another on 18 minutes to give Monaco the lead.
Vitinha then wasted a penalty for PSG to narrow the gap which was saved and last seasons Ballon dOr recipient Ousmane Dembele suffered an injury before the half hour but his substitute Doue proved decisive.
He scored soon after entering the pitch and assisted Achraf Hakimi for the leveller just before halftime.
Monaco saw Aleksandr Golovin red carded early in the second half for a foul on Vitinha after which Doue netted the decisive goal on 67 minutes.
He is an exceptional talent and unique I am delighted for him as he earned this PSG boss Luis Enrique said to broadcaster Canal Plus about Doue.
Earlier in Turkey Galatasaray put on an exciting display to win 5-2 over Juventus in a thrilling encounter with Noa Lang bagging a brace for the Turkish outfit.
Gabriel Sara gave the hosts the lead but Teun Koopmeiners replied with two goals to send Juventus ahead at the interval.
Lang equalised soon after the break and Davinson Sanchez restored Galatasarays advantage before Juventus lost Juan Cabal to a red card.
Lang added his second and replacement Sacha Boey wrapped up the victory leaving the two time champions Juventus with a steep task in the return leg next week.
Dortmund the 2024 runners up are poised to knock out yet another Italian side after a 2-0 success against Atalanta where Serhou Guirassy scored first early in the game.
His 16th strike of the campaign was followed by Maximilian Beiers goal shortly before the break.