Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League last 16 with a 2-1 home win over Benfica, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Vinicius Jr. scored the decisive goal in the 80th minute to settle an anxious night at the Santiago Bernabeu, where the tie was level on the evening and the hosts struggled for long spells.
Benfica, missing suspended coach Jose Mourinho, began with urgency and drew level on aggregate when Rafa Silva finished from close range after a sharp move down the right. Real responded almost immediately as Federico Valverde pulled the ball back for Aurelien Tchouameni, who curled in the equalizer.
The game remained open. Arda Guler had a goal ruled out for offside midway through the first half, and the second period was played at a high tempo but with little precision as Madrid mislaid simple passes and the crowd grew restless.
Real was without Kylian Mbappe because of a knee injury. Benfica also missed forward Gianluca Prestianni, who was provisionally suspended following an alleged racist insult aimed at Vinicius in last week’s first leg.
Madrid suffered a scare in the 77th minute when Raul Asencio was carried off after a heavy fall. As Benfica pushed forward in search of a goal, Valverde released Vinicius down the inside-left channel, and the Brazilian angled his finish past goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to secure qualification.
Real Madrid will face either Manchester City or Sporting CP in the round of 16.
Elsewhere, Atalanta eliminate Borussia Dortmund with 4-3 aggregate win.
Lazar Samardzic sealed Atalanta’s progress with the last kick of the game on a remarkable evening in Bergamo.
La Dea wiped out a 2-0 first-leg deficit before the break, Gianluca Scamacca tapping in the fifth-minute opener before Davide Zappacosta’s deflected shot wrong-footed Gregor Kobel late in the half.
It got even better for the hosts when Mario Pašalic met Marten de Roon’s cross but Dortmund replied through substitute Karim Adeyemi’s sublime curler on 75 minutes.
Extra time loomed until Atalanta won a penalty deep in added time, an incident that brought red cards for Ramy Bensebaini, Nico Schlotterbeck and Giorgio Scalvini. Samardzic made no mistake from the spot.
PSG overcome Monaco to reach last-16, Galatasaray oust Juve
Second-half goals from Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia saw Paris Saint-Germain draw 2-2 with fellow Ligue 1 opponents AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off to qualify for the last-16 of the competition with 5-4 win on aggregate.
Two goals in the space of six second-half minutes helped the reigning champions into the last 16 after being pushed close by ten-man Monaco. The visitors started brightly and were rewarded for their efforts just before half-time via Maghnes Akliouche’s neat strike.
However, shortly after Monaco’s Mamadou Coulibaly received a second booking, home skipper Marquinhos steered in a Désiré Doué cross, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia pouncing on a rebound to give Paris the lead on the night.
Substitute Jordan Teze made it a nervy ending for Luis Enrique’s men with an emphatic finish deep in added time, but the hosts held on.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray held off a remarkable comeback by ten-man Juventus, sealing a place in round of 16 with 7-5 aggregate win.
Victor Osimhen and Barıs Alper Yılmaz struck in extra time as Galatasaray held off Juventus in a pulsating encounter. The hosts came from three goals down after the first leg to force an additional half-hour despite the dismissal of Lloyd Kelly three minutes after the interval, by which time Manuel Locatelli’s penalty had pulled one back.
The Bianconeri rallied though, striking again through Federico Gatti before making it 5-5 on aggregate when Weston McKennie forced the ball in moments after Kenan Yıldız had hit the post.
Jeremie Boga might even have put the Italian side ahead overall but could not convert – and that was the cue for the visitors to finally overcome tiring opponents.