Into the Champions League round of 16

Real Madrid defeated Benfica at the Bernabéu and secured qualification for the Champions League round of 16, where they will face either Sporting CP or Manchester City. Our team had to come back after Rafa Silva's 0-1, which leveled the tie in the 14th minute. The response was immediate. In the 16th minute, Tchouameni scored, and in the 80th minute, Vini Jr. sealed the match and the passage to the next round. A great performance from Valverde, who also provided the assists for both goals tonight.

The match started at a high tempo, and just over 15 minutes in, two goals had already been scored, one by each team. Benfica struck first in the 14th minute. Pavlidis sent in a cross from the right wing, and Asencio, in an attempt to clear, directed the ball toward his own goal, but Courtois reacted brilliantly to prevent the goal. However, he could do nothing against Rafa Silva's follow-up. Real Madrid responded quickly, equalizing two minutes later. Valverde laid the ball back, and Tchouameni scored from the edge of the area with a precise shot using the inside of his right foot. 

Goal disallowed for Arda Güler
After the half-hour mark, our team scored again. It was Arda Güler in the 32nd minute, but the goal was disallowed due to a very tight offside by Gonzalo. Six minutes later, Courtois made a spectacular save against a powerful shot from Ríos inside the area. With the score at 1-1, the halftime whistle blew, and right after the restart, Valverde had a clear chance but failed to strike the ball properly from the penalty spot.

Enjoy all the videos of this match on RM Play

Our team regained possession very close to the opponent's area, and in one of those recoveries after a loss, they almost broke the deadlock in the 55th minute following a solo move by Trent, which ended with a shot inside the area that went wide. Benfica responded five minutes later with a shot from Rafa Silva from the edge of the area with the outside of his right foot, which first hit Asencio and then crashed against the crossbar. 

Asencio's injury
As the minutes went by, in the 76th minute, Asencio had to be carried off on a stretcher after a violent fall following an aerial collision with Camavinga in a very unfortunate play. Four minutes later, the scorer of the tie appeared. Once again, the assist came from Valverde, who played the ball into the path of Vini Jr., and the Brazilian finished exquisitely. The number seven was the scorer of the 0-1 in the first leg and tonight scored the 2-1 in the second leg. From there until the end, our team barely suffered and secured qualification for the Champions League round of 16. Either Sporting CP or Manchester City awaits in this Friday's draw.

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.