Vinícius Júnior ran to the corner and danced again, just as he had done in Lisbon a week ago, but this time there was celebration all around him. There was also relief. With eleven minutes left on a sometimes nervous night at the Santiago Bernabéu, he had been set free to run through, putting the ball past Anatoliy Trubin and Real Madrid into the last 16 of the Champions League. A 3-1 aggregate lead secured, a place in the next round too, he set off and shook his hips in front of the flag, fans released from their fears and applauding him as he did so.
One-nil up from a first leg in Lisbon that had been overshadowed by allegations that the Brazilian had been racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, Madrid had trailed by an early goal here and although they equalised swiftly, an uneasy night ensued in which they had not felt safe until then. In the end though, with Prestianni and José Mourinho absent and nowhere to be seen, an impressive performance from Benfica was not enough.
Continue reading…Vinícius Júnior ran to the corner and danced again, just as he had done in Lisbon a week ago, but this time there was celebration all around him. There was also relief. With eleven minutes left on a sometimes nervous night at the Santiago Bernabéu, he had been set free to run through, putting the ball past Anatoliy Trubin and Real Madrid into the last 16 of the Champions League. A 3-1 aggregate lead secured, a place in the next round too, he set off and shook his hips in front of the flag, fans released from their fears and applauding him as he did so.One-nil up from a first leg in Lisbon that had been overshadowed by allegations that the Brazilian had been racially abused by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, Madrid had trailed by an early goal here and although they equalised swiftly, an uneasy night ensued in which they had not felt safe until then. In the end though, with Prestianni and José Mourinho absent and nowhere to be seen, an impressive performance from Benfica was not enough. Continue reading…