Real Madrid recovered from an early setback to defeat Benfica 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday.
The result sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory, sending the Spanish giants into the Champions League last 16. Goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Vinicius Junior overturned an early opener from Rafa Silva.
Benfica Strike First
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Lisbon, Benfica began brightly and stunned the home crowd in the 14th minute.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois initially produced a superb save to prevent an own goal. However, the rebound fell to Rafa, who controlled the ball and fired home from close range.
The visitors looked dangerous throughout the first half, exploiting a makeshift Real defence missing key players, including Eder Militao. Kylian Mbappe was also sidelined with a knee injury.
Madrid Responds and Regain Control
Real Madrid responded just two minutes later. Federico Valverde cut the ball back from the right flank, allowing Tchouameni to guide a precise low finish inside the post to level the score.
The hosts gradually took control. Arda Guler had a goal ruled out for offside, while Courtois denied Richard Rios as Benfica threatened again. Rafa also came close when his powerful strike crashed against the crossbar.
Vinicius Seals the Tie
The decisive moment arrived in the 80th minute. Valverde won possession in midfield and released Vinicius with a perfectly timed through ball. The Brazilian forward beat the offside trap, surged into the penalty area, and calmly slotted into the bottom corner to settle the contest.
Tchouameni reflected on the performance:
“We didn’t start very well, but we remained confident and knew the goals would come eventually. We did things a little better as the match progressed and now we’re going to keep going as we move forward. We need to tweak our defence a little and get into the game better, but we won, and that’s the most important thing.”
Real Madrid will now await Friday’s draw, where they could face either Manchester City or Sporting CP in the next round.
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