Lisbon, Portugal – Real Madrid secured a valuable away victory against Benfica, defeating them 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie at the Estádio da Luz on Tuesday night.
The match began with an attacking approach from the home side, as Benfica applied early pressure and almost opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a powerful shot. However, Thibaut Courtois made a brilliant save to keep his net intact.
Before the end of the first half, Real Madrid had a golden opportunity to take the lead. Kylian Mbappé received a brilliant pass from Vinicius that put him through on goal, but he shot wide.
As the second half began, the Spanish team succeeded in translating their superiority, as Vinicius Junior scored the only goal of the match in the 50th minute, after he fired a powerful shot from inside the penalty area that settled in the net.
فينيسيوس جونيور يفتتح التسجيل لريال مدريد بهدف رائع ✨⚽
لمسة مهارية تُشعل أجواء المباراة أمام بنفيكا#دوري_أبطال_أوروبا #رمضان_مع_beIN#RamadanwithbeIN pic.twitter.com/Rf5rmiD62I
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 17, 2026The match was stopped for 10 minutes due to racist chants from some Benfica fans against the Brazilian star, before the referee intervened and issued an official warning to the fans not to repeat the matter, so that the match could resume again.
In the 85th minute, the referee showed a red card to Benfica coach José Mourinho for protesting his decisions.
The remaining minutes passed without any change to the score, securing Real Madrid’s first-leg victory. The tie will be decided in the second leg, scheduled for February 25th at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
