Real Madrid beat Benfica in play-off marred by racism allegation
Real Madrid earned a slim Champions League play-off advantage over Benfica on a chaotic night in Lisbon that saw Vinicius Jr report an alleged racist comment.
The Brazilian winger scored a brilliant curling strike in the second half to secure the victory for the Spanish giants.
However, the match was overshadowed by the scenes that immediately followed the goal.
Vinicius was initially shown a yellow card for an exuberant celebration in front of the home supporters at the Estadio da Luz.
The forward then approached the referee to report an alleged racist comment directed at him from the stands.
Play suspended in Lisbon
The incident resulted in a significant 11-minute stoppage before play was eventually able to resume.
Tensions remained high on the touchline, resulting in Benfica manager Jose Mourinho being sent off after receiving two yellow cards.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side will now take a one-goal lead back to the Bernabeu for the second leg next Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Galatasaray stormed to a stunning victory over Italian heavyweights Juventus in a seven-goal thriller.
The Turkish champions secured a commanding 5-2 win at RAMS Park despite falling behind in the first half.
Galatasaray stun Juventus
Gabriel Sara opened the scoring for the hosts before a brace from Teun Koopmeiners put the Serie A side ahead at the break.
The home side responded emphatically in the second period to take complete control of the tie.
Goals from Noa Lang, Davinson Sanchez and Sacha Boey established a massive three-goal cushion ahead of the return trip to Turin.
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund overcame pre-match travel chaos to defeat Atalanta 2-0.
Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes after the Dortmund team bus was caught in traffic en route to the stadium.
Dortmund quick out of the blocks
The delay did not affect the hosts, who took the lead inside three minutes through a Serhou Guirassy header at the back post.
Max Beier doubled the advantage shortly before half-time to seal a comfortable win for Nuri Sahin’s men.
Finally, Champions League holders Paris St-Germain recovered from a horror start to beat 10-man Monaco 3-2.
The Parisians found themselves trailing by two goals before a red card changed the complexion of the tie.
PSG comeback against 10 men
Monaco midfielder Aleksandr Golovin was dismissed for a studs-up tackle on Vitinha following a VAR review.
Desire Doue came off the bench to spark the revival for the French champions.
The substitute scored twice and set up Achraf Hakimi to complete the turnaround ahead of the return leg in Paris.