Overview
- Vinícius Júnior decided the first leg in Lisbon with a superb early second‑half strike for a 1–0 Real Madrid win.
- The Brazilian accused Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni of a racist insult, prompting referee François Letexier to trigger the anti‑racism protocol and pause play for about 10 minutes without an in‑game sanction.
- Benfica coach José Mourinho was sent off late for protesting and will miss next week’s return leg in Madrid.
- Real coach Álvaro Arbeloa said the team would have left the field if Vinícius had chosen to, while the referee told Madrid he did not hear anything he could act upon.
- Vinícius reached 31 Champions League goals to move second among Brazilian scorers and later condemned the episode on social media.