The latest clash of the two original European club champions went the way of Real Madrid who secured a vital 1-0 victory over Benfica in Lisbon where home boss Jose Mourinho was sent off in the closing stages.
The first half was a cagey affair, with both sides testing the waters but failing to find a breakthrough. However, the game ignited five minutes into the second half. Kylian Mbappé led a lightning-fast counter-attack, feeding Vinícius Júnior, who cut inside and curled a trademark finish into the far corner.
The goal sparked an ugly turn in the atmosphere. The match was delayed for 11 minutes as referee François Letexier activated FIFA’s anti-racism protocol following an exchange between Vinícius and Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni.
When play finally resumed, the tension remained sky-high. Benfica manager Mourinho was sent off in the 85th minute after receiving two yellow cards for dissent, ensuring he will be absent from the touchline for the return leg at the Bernabéu, one of his former footballing homes.
Despite 13 minutes of stoppage time and a barrage of projectiles thrown from the stands, Madrid’s defence held firm to take a slender lead back to Spain.
An all-French clash at the Stade Louis II was a thriller in which European champions Paris Saint-Germain hit back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.
Monaco looked to have blown the visitors away early on, as Folarin Balogun made history by becoming the first American to score a brace in a Champions League knockout match. Balogun’s first came inside the opening minute, followed by a clinical second in the 18th.
PSG’s night appeared to be spiralling when Vitinha missed a penalty, prompting Luis Enrique to make the bold call of subbing off Ousmane Dembélé after just 25 minutes. The gamble paid off immediately. Substitute Désiré Doué became the hero of the night, scoring shortly after coming on and later netting the winner in the 64th minute.
Achraf Hakimi provided the equalizer just before the break, as PSG capitalized on a second-half red card for Monaco’s Aleksandr Golovin to turn the tie on its head.
Elsewhere Galatasaray ran up a shock 5-2 defeat of Juventus while Signal Iduna Park saw a second Italian defeat as Atalanta went down 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund.