Vinicius Junior scored the only goal as Real Madrid beat Benfica 1-0 away in Lisbon in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.
However, the match was overshadowed by controversy. After scoring early in the second half with a powerful shot into the top corner, Vinicius celebrated by dancing in front of the home fans and was given a yellow card.
Soon after, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni appeared to say something to him. Vinicius reported to the referee, Francois Letexier, that he had been called “mono” (Spanish for monkey). The game was stopped for several minutes, and Vinicius was later booed by the crowd.
Benfica coach Jose Mourinho was sent off late in the game for protesting too strongly. This means he will miss the second leg in Madrid. Despite 12 minutes of added time, Benfica could not equalise and now face a tough task in the return match.
“(What happened) is something that nobody likes, you have to ask the Benfica player what he said,” Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa told broadcaster Movistar.
“(Racism) is something we have to eradicate from the world of football and if the players don’t fix it then this is very complicated.”
In another match, Paris Saint-Germain came back from two goals down to beat AS Monaco 3-2.
Folarin Balogun scored twice in the first 18 minutes to give Monaco a strong start.
PSG missed a penalty through Vitinha, and Ousmane Dembele went off injured.
But substitute Desire Doue changed the game. He scored soon after coming on, helped set up Achraf Hakimi for the equaliser, and then scored the winning goal in the second half. Monaco also had Aleksandr Golovin sent off.
“He is an incredible player and a different player. I am very pleased for him because he deserved it,” PSG coach Luis Enrique told broadcaster Canal Plus of Doue.
Galatasaray beat Juventus 5-2 in Istanbul in an exciting match.
Gabriel Sara gave Galatasaray the lead, but Teun Koopmeiners scored twice to put Juventus ahead at halftime.
In the second half, Noa Lang scored twice for Galatasaray. Davinson Sanchez also scored, and Juventus had Juan Cabal sent off. Substitute Sacha Boey added another goal late on. Juventus now face a difficult second leg.
Dortmund take control against Atalanta
Borussia Dortmund beat Atalanta 2-0 in Germany.
Serhou Guirassy scored early, his 16th goal of the season. Maximilian Beier added a second goal before halftime. Dortmund now have a strong advantage going into the second leg.
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