UCL: Vinicius Silences Benfica, Mourinho Sent Off!

Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Benfica 0-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid registered a 1-0 win over Benfica in a feisty first-leg encounter during Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League play-off action.

After a goalless first half, Vinicius Junior broke the deadlock in the 50th minute as he skipped past one player before curling the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box.

There was a big delay after the goal as Vinicius informed the referee about something that Gianluca Prestianni told him, which led to the Brazilian leaving the pitch temporarily.

Benfica coach Jose Mourinho did not finish the clash on the touchline as he was sent to the stands on 85 minutes for dissent, after protesting about the referee’s decision not to award Vinicius a second yellow card for a foul.

AS Monaco 2-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain rallied back from two goals down to defeat AS Monaco 3-2 in the first leg.

The hosts raced into a two-goal lead in the opening 20 minutes thanks to a brace from Folarin Balogun, before Vitinha missed a penalty for PSG in the 22nd minute.

Luis Enrique then lost the services of Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, with substitute Desire Doue coming on to good effect to pull a goal back for the visitors in the 29th minute. Achraf Hakimi managed to restore parity just before the halftime break.

Monaco endured a horrible start to the second half when Aleksandr Golovin was shown a straight red card three minutes, before Doue bagged his second goal of the game to put PSG 3-2 up.

Galatasaray 5-2 Juventus

Galatasaray have one foot in the round of 16 after thrashing Juventus 5-2 in the first leg of their play-off tie.

The hosts took the lead on 15 minutes through Gabriel Sara, but the Old Lady hit back a minute later through Teun Koopmeiners, who then went on to give Juventus the lead in the 32nd minute.

The Tukrish champions, however, restored their advantage thanks a to a brace from Noa Lang, before Sacha Boey added Galatasaray’s fifth goal on 86 minutes.

Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Atalanta

Borussia Dortmund secured a 2-0 victory over Atalanta in the first leg on Tuesday night.

Goals from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier in the first half were enough to seal a first-leg win.

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