Controversy over racism allegations involving Vinícius Júnior overshadowed Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off matches, as Real Madrid CF, Paris Saint-Germain, Galatasaray S.K. and Borussia Dortmund secured crucial first-leg victories.
Galatasaray 5–2 Juventus
Galatasaray produced the standout result, thrashing Juventus FC 5–2 after an explosive second-half comeback.
Gabriel Sara opened the scoring before a Teun Koopmeiners brace put Juventus ahead at halftime. Noa Lang equalised early in the second half, Davinson Sánchez headed the hosts in front, and after Juan Cabal’s dismissal, Lang added his second before Sacha Boey sealed a dominant win.
Player of the Match: Gabriel Sara
Benfica 0–1 Real Madrid
Real Madrid earned a narrow but valuable away win against SL Benfica thanks to Vinícius Júnior’s curling strike early in the second half.
The match was briefly halted for approximately 10 minutes after Vinícius alleged he was subjected to racist abuse from opposition players, prompting Madrid players to leave the field in protest before play resumed.
Madrid dominated late in the first half, while Thibaut Courtois denied Benfica’s best chance during a bright opening spell.
Player of the Match: Aurélien Tchouaméni
Monaco 2–3 Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain recovered from two goals down to defeat AS Monaco FC in a thrilling contest.
Folarin Balogun scored twice early for Monaco, but Désiré Doué pulled one back before Achraf Hakimi equalised before halftime. After Aleksandr Golovin’s red card early in the second half, Doué struck the winner in the 67th minute.
Player of the Match: Désiré Doué
Borussia Dortmund 2–0 Atalanta
Borussia Dortmund took control of their tie with a solid victory over Atalanta BC.
Serhou Guirassy headed Dortmund in front from Julian Ryerson’s cross, before setting up Maximilian Beier to double the lead before halftime. Atalanta failed to respond after the break.
Player of the Match: Serhou Guirassy
- Wednesday fixtures
- Qarabağ FK vs Newcastle United FC
- Club Brugge KV vs Atlético Madrid
- FK Bodø/Glimt vs Inter Milan
- Olympiacos F.C. vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- All kick-offs 21:00.
