Vinicius, Madrid dance into last 16

After being loudly booed, Vinicius Junior danced again. This time in front of Real Madrid supporters while leading his team to the round of 16 of the Champions League, a week after accusing a Benfica opponent of racially insulting him.

Vinicius scored an 80th-minute goal to give Madrid a 2-1 victory and a 3-1 aggregate win over Benfica at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday.

Vinicius celebrated by dancing by the corner flag, just like he did in the first leg in front of Benfica fans — which ignited a confrontation with Benfica players and the accusation that Gianluca Prestianni called him "monkey".

"That's our Vinicius," said Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who scored Madrid's first goal in the 16th, a couple of minutes after Benfica had taken the lead through Rafa Silva.

Prestianni, who has denied racially insulting Vinicius and has been defended by Benfica, was provisionally suspended one match by UEFA and did not play on Wednesday even though the Argentine traveled to the Spanish capital. UEFA rejected Benfica's last-minute appeal against the provisional suspension.

Last week's match was halted for nearly 10 minutes after the referee triggered the anti-racism protocol following Vinicius' complaint to him.

On Wednesday, Vinicius had the final say, scoring on a breakaway, calmly sending a low shot past the goalkeeper for his sixth goal in his last five matches for Madrid.

"I'm happy that Vini is dancing," Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. "Because if he's dancing, it means that he is scoring."

Loud boos

The more than 3,000 Benfica fans at the Bernabeu jeered Vinicius every time he touched the ball early on, at one point celebrating when he lost control of it.

The Benfica supporters also booed emphatically when the name of the Brazilian player was announced in the starting lineup ahead of the match.

The boos gradually quietened as the match went on and Madrid took control of the game.

Last week, a few Benfica fans were seen doing monkey gestures from the stands after the match at the Estadio da Luz.

Vinicius also participated in the buildup of what would have been Madrid's second goal in the first half, before it was disallowed for an offside.

Anti-racism banner

Before Wednesday's match, Madrid fans raised a banner that read: "No To Racism". A "respect" banner also was displayed behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.

Madrid fans also jeered when Benfica central defender Nicolas Otamendi touched the ball. Otamendi, who is also Argentine, was one of the players that confronted Vinicius after the Brazilian's celebration by the Benfica flag a week ago.

Also missing for Benfica was coach Jose Mourinho, the former Madrid coach, who was sent off late in the first leg for complaining to the referee.

Mourinho did not participate in the pre-game news conference on Tuesday, and was expected to watch the match from the stands at the Bernabeu.

Nazi salute

Real Madrid said in a statement after the match it "urgently requested" the club's disciplinary committee to open a procedure to expel a fan who was caught by television cameras performing a Nazi salute before the match.

Madrid said the supporter appeared to be part of its organized fan group behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.

"This member was identified by the club's security staff moments after appearing on the broadcast and was immediately expelled from the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium," the club said. "Real Madrid condemns this type of gesture and expression that incites violence and hatred in sports and society."

Asencio injured

Madrid defender Raul Asencio had to be carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital for tests after a hard collision with teammate Eduardo Camavinga in the second half.

The central defender hit the ground hard and had to be attended to for a few minutes on the field.

The medical members braced his head and neck before carrying him off.

Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said Asencio apparently injured his neck but "it wasn't serious".

Mbappe rested

Madrid is also hoping Kylian Mbappe will be back in "a matter of days" after he missed the second-leg clash.

Mbappe was not included in the squad for the game because of a left knee injury he has been nursing for some time.

"He had to leave training and had been feeling some discomfort," Arbeloa said.

"We spoke with the doctors and with him, and we agreed that the best thing was for him to stop for a while.

"Now we'll have to wait. Hopefully, it's just a matter of days."

The France star, who scored nine goals in his last eight matches for Madrid, was replaced in attack by Gonzalo Garcia.

Agencies Via Xinhua