Vinicius Jr makes pointed celebration after scoring vs Benfica amid alleged racism storm
Vinicius Jr has all but sealed Real Madrid’s passage into the next round of the Champions League with a clinical finish against Benfica tonight.
The Brazilian forward collected a perfectly weighted pass from Eduardo Camavinga before bursting into the penalty area.
He then calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner with his right foot, making it 2-1 on the night.
The goal came after Aurelien Tchouameni had already found the net earlier in the match.
Vinicius Jr went to celebrate exactly how he did in the first leg
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With the aggregate score now standing at 3-1 in Real Madrid’s favour, Benfica’s hopes of progressing look all but over.
What happened next was pure theatre from the 25-year-old.
Vinicius Jr sprinted straight to the corner flag and launched into his now-famous dance routine.
It was a deliberate callback to his celebration in the first leg at the Estadio de Lux just a week ago.
That particular moment of joy sparked absolute chaos in Lisbon.
The Brazilian clearly wasn’t about to let the controversy stop him from expressing himself in exactly the same way.
It felt like a pointed statement from a player who has been at the centre of an ugly storm surrounding these two matches.
During that first leg encounter, Benfica supporters hurled abuse and objects at Vinicius Jr from the stands after his celebration.
The situation escalated dramatically when Benfica players confronted the winger, leading to the alleged racist incident involving Gianluca Prestianni.
The 20-year-old Argentine was spotted with his shirt pulled over his mouth at the moment Vinicius Jr claimed he had been racially abused.
Prestianni has firmly denied the accusation against him.
However, UEFA handed him a provisional one-match suspension, which meant the youngster was forced to sit out tonight’s second leg at the Bernabeu.
