"LISBON -- Three weeks after losing 4-2 on a night that will be long remembered at Benfica, Real Madrid were back at the Estadio da Luz. But this wasn't the same game, the same feeling or the same outcome. This time, there was no last-gasp headed goal from a goalkeeper, and no celebratory tears from Benfica manager José Mourinho. Instead, Madrid take a deserved 1-0 lead back to the Bernabéu for next week's playoff second leg."
"On their return to Lisbon, this did not look like the same visiting team. "We saw a totally different Real Madrid," coach Álvaro Arbeloa said afterward. On their side, there was less chaos and more control. Madrid learned their lessons from the humbling defeat that dropped them out of the Champions League top eight and into these knockout round playoffs, and they came well prepared."
"Nothing exemplified that more than Vinícius Júnior's stunning 50th-minute goal and the 10-minute stoppage that followed it, when Vinícius accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him and the referee invoked UEFA's anti-racism protocol. The incident hung over the rest of the game, and the postmatch discussion. "This can't happen," Aurélien Tchouaméni said. Kylian Mbappé said Prestianni "did not deserve to play in the Champions League again.""
Real Madrid returned to the Estadio da Luz and won 1-0, taking the lead to the Bernabéu for the second-leg playoff. The visiting side displayed more control and less chaos compared with a prior 4-2 defeat. Vinícius Júnior scored a 50th-minute goal that was followed by a 10-minute stoppage when he accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of racial abuse and the referee invoked UEFA's anti-racism protocol. The incident overshadowed the remainder of the match and postgame reactions. Benfica manager José Mourinho received a red card for protesting late in the second half and watched the closing stages from the stands.
Read at ESPN.com
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