Real Madrid vs. Benfica LIVE Updates: Vinicius Junior gives Los Blancos the lead (2-1)

Nearing the end of the game, and far from Courtois goal, Palacios stopped Rios by holding onto his jersey, earning the second yellow card for a Real Madrid player on the game.

Arbeloa makes the last substitution at Real Madrid: Fran Garcia in, Alvaro Carreras out.

On the other side, Benfica's Tralhao took Leandro Barreiro off for Sidny Lopes Cabral.

Nine minutes of added time have been signaled before the conclusion of the game between Real Madrid and Benfica.

José Mourinho’s assistant coach João Tralhão makes the first changes, substituting Fredrik Aursnes and Andreas Schjelderup for Enzo Barrenechea and Franjo Ivanovic.

Coach Arbeloa makes another double substitution at Real Madrid, deciding to take Gonzalo Garcia and Arda Guler out, giving the chance to academy graduates Thiago Pitarch and Cesar Palacios.

After Real Madrid’s goal, Benfica looked to respond through Rafa, whose shot was deflected by defender Carreras out for a corner.

After winning the ball in midfield, Valverde slipped a through pass into space for Vinícius Júnior, who finished clinically to the far post to score Real Madrid’s second goal.

Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa makes the first two substitutions of the game: Franco Mastantuono and David Alaba in, Eduardo Camavinga and Raul Asencio out.

After several minutes on the ground, the medical staff fitted Raúl Asencio with an orthopedic neck brace, and he will be stretchered off the pitch following the collision with Camavinga.

After a mid-air collision with teammate Camavinga, Raúl Asencio got the worst of it, landing awkwardly and forcing a stoppage so he could receive medical attention.

Alexander-Arnold played a long ball that put Valverde one-on-one with Trubin, but a swift intervention from Amar Dedić rescued Benfica from a clear scoring chance.

After a misplaced pass from Tchouaméni, Aursnes and Rafa Silva combined to set up Pavlidis for a strike from outside the box that took a deflection off a Real Madrid defender, resulting in a fortunate save.

Schjelderup, one of the best players of Benfica on the pitch, got taken down by Valverde, who wasn't booked by referee Vincic.

Barreiro dispossessed Vinícius and, after receiving the ball, Rafa attempted a trivela shot that struck the crossbar following a slight deflection off Asencio.

After a tough challenge over Rafa Silva, Raul Asencio earned the first booking for Los Blancos.

After cutting inside-out, Alexander-Arnold left Dahl behind and unleashed a shot that went scratching the post.

Real Madrid continue to assert their dominance in the opening minutes of the second half, this time from an Alexander-Arnold corner that Asencio headed just over Trubin’s goal.

After colliding with Vinícius, Nicolás Otamendi then brought Tchouaméni down with a late challenge and was shown a yellow card. If Benfica advance, the Argentine defender will serve a one-match suspension.

After Alexander-Arnold’s cross into the box, Federico Valverde — despite being right in front of goal — failed to make contact with the ball, missing a golden chance to score Real Madrid’s second.

The second half between Real Madrid and Benfica, with a ticket to the Champions League Round of 16 on the line, is underway.

After the first 45 minutes, Benfica and Real Madrid are level at 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu, with the hosts leading 2-1 on aggregate. Rafa Silva and Aurélien Tchouaméni scored the goals.

Referee Vincic has decided to add one more minute to the first half.

Once again providing width down the right flank, Valverde cut the ball back to Güler, whose shot was blocked by Otamendi and deflected out for a corner.

After a brilliant individual play from Schjelderup, the winger cut the ball back to Ríos, whose powerful strike was saved by Courtois.

After a heavy touch, Tchouaméni recovered the ball from Richard Ríos, who arrived late with a challenge on the Frenchman and was shown the first yellow card of the game.

After review, VAR determined that Gonzalo Garcia was offside, ruling Arda Guler's goal off.

After beating his marker on the left flank, Vinícius delivered a cross to Federico Valverde, who brought it down for Gonzalo García. The striker fired a shot that was blocked by Otamendi, but the rebound fell inside the box to Arda Güler, who made no mistake and finished for the goal.

Set up in a compact 4-4-2 defensive shape, Real Madrid have been unable to play vertical passes through Benfica’s back line, with the visitors still needing one more goal.

Advancing deeper into Benfica’s half, Eduardo Camavinga tried his luck from distance, but his shot went straight to goalkeeper Trubin.

After reaching the byline, Schjelderup delivered a cross that found no one, sparing Real Madrid from conceding another goal.

After winning the ball high up the pitch, Tchouameni switched play to the right, where Federico Valverde delivered a cross to the edge of the box, and the French midfielder arrived to finish clinically and score the equalizer.

After a great through ball, striker Vangelos Pavlidis drifted to the right and delivered a cross that was intercepted by Raul Asencio, who nearly turned it into his own net. After Thibaut Courtois spilled the rebound, Rafa Silva pounced on the loose ball and finished into an open net to score the opening goal of the game.

Aside from an early header from Leandro Barreiro, Benfica are struggling to generate high-quality opportunities against a well-organized Real Madrid side.

Dribbling from the left side, Vinicius played a one-two with Arda Guler who played a great ball into the box, with the Brazilian unleashing a strike that went just wide.

Trailing on aggregate, Benfica are pressing high up the pitch, looking to force a defensive mistake from Real Madrid while maintaining possession whenever possible.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are holding their defensive shape and waiting to catch Benfica on the counterattack, with Vinícius Júnior as their primary outlet.

Referee Slavko Vincic blows his whistle, and the UEFA Champions League playoffs second leg between Real Madrid and Benfica is underway!

Speaking to Movistar+ prior to the game Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa revealed how the decision to sideline Mbappe was taken: “It was somewhat a collective decision among everyone — first based on how he was feeling, and then after speaking with the doctors, we believe the best thing is for him to stop and return at 100%."

The Spanish coach, when asked whether he'll be only sidelined for the Benfica game, he made a pessimistic update. "I couldn’t tell you right now. I don’t think it will be a matter of days; it will likely be longer, but I can’t say how much time exactly," he added.

Benfica are one of the few clubs in history that can claim a winning record against Real Madrid. Across the five meetings between the sides in UEFA competitions, three have gone in favor of the Portuguese club, while two — including last week’s clash — have been won by the Spanish giants.

Their most iconic encounter came in the 1962 European Cup final, when Benfica defeated Madrid 5–3 to lift the trophy.

Slovenian official Slavko Vinčić will referee Wednesday’s Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Benfica.

The 46-year-old has previously overseen three Real Madrid matches (two wins, one loss), including the 2023–24 Champions League final, when Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund. He has also officiated six Benfica games (two wins, three draws, one loss), among them a Club World Cup match against Chelsea in which he sent off Gianluca Prestianni.

Match officiating team:

Referee: Slavko Vincic
Assistant Referee 1: Tomaz Klancnik
Assistant Referee 2: Andraz Kovacic
Fourth official: David Smajc
VAR: Christian Dingert

In an already heated atmosphere surrounding the match, tensions spilled over outside the stadium before kickoff. Several Benfica supporters were involved in confrontations with local police.

Some fans even required medical attention following the incidents, though full details on injuries and causes of the clashes have not yet been confirmed.

Head coach Jose Mourinho confirmed the starting XI that'll be pushing for the comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu (4-2-3-1): Anatoliy Trubin; Amar Dedic, Nicolas Otamendi, Tomas Araujo, Samuel Dahl; Leandro Barreiro, Richard Rios; Fredrik Aursnes, Rafa Silva, Andreas Schjelderup; Vangelos Pavlidis.

After delivering an assist to Vinícius Júnior in the first leg, Kylian Mbappé will not play against Benfica at the Santiago Bernabéu. The Real Madrid star suffered a setback in his left knee during Tuesday’s training session, prompting the decision to rule him out of the match.

To avoid any risk, Mbappé has not only been left out of the starting XI but was also excluded entirely from Madrid’s matchday squad, meaning he won’t even be available as a substitute.

Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa confirmed the players that'll be facing Benfica from the start (4-4-2): Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Raul Asencio, Antonio Rudiger, Alvaro Carreras; Federico Valverde, Arda Guler, Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga; Gonzalo Garcia, Vinicius Junior.

Gianluca Prestianni won't be performing for Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League against Real Madrid. Following Vinícius Jr.’s complaint of racial discrimination, UEFA has imposed a provisional 1-game suspension to the Argentine, ruling him out of the second leg, and even though Benfica appealed the decision, the organization decided to reject the appeal.

After the decision, Prestianni broke the silence delivering a message on his X (formerly Twitter) account that would eventually end up being deleted: "Apparently, you can throw a punch without the ball and get no sanction. Apparently, you can sanction someone without proof. They aren't even trying to hide it anymore when it comes to Real (Madrid). It is a disgrace."

The game between Real Madrid and Benfica game will begin at 3:00 PM (ET).

You can watch the UEFA Champions League match live on Paramount+, DirecTV Stream, UniMás, TUDN and ViX.

Welcome to our live blog of the game between Real Madrid and Benfica for the second leg of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League playoffs. Stay with us for all the latest updates and minute-by-minute coverage of the heated clash!