Vinicius was the protagonist of the first leg in the Champions League playoff against Benfica due to a controversy over an alleged racist incident involving Gianluca Prestianni. His importance makes him the focus again, as he could miss the next match through suspension if Real Madrid progress from this round.
The Brazilian scored the winning goal in Portugal to give his team the lead heading back to Spain. However, the referee deemed his celebration excessive and showed him a yellow card, putting him at risk of suspension if he receives another in Wednesday’s match.
There are five more players who are at risk of missing the round of 16. Jude Bellingham looks like the most irreplaceable on the list, but he should be available because he will not play this rematch due to injury. Rodrygo is another player at risk who will not play in Madrid. Álvaro Carreras, Aurelien Tchouameni and Dean Huijsen are the other three.
Real Madrid’s potential rivals
The new Champions League format raised doubts when it was announced. Using unified standings to rank all 36 teams did not seem straightforward, but it has produced exciting outcomes, such as Benfica qualifying for this round at Real Madrid’s expense.
Bellingham can’t play this match because of an injury (Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
This also produced a different type of bracket for the knockout rounds than what everyone was used to since the competition changed its structure in the 1990s. Potential opponents will be decided by a mini draw.
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Real Madrid will not know who they will face in the round of 16 until the draw. The opponent will be randomly selected from two very different options. Manchester City or Sporting CP are the clubs they could play in the next round.
When do the yellow cards accumulation end?
The rule states that after a player receives three yellow cards, he is suspended for one match. This is not usually a major focus in short series like this one, but it can influence how managers use substitutions.
Yellow card tallies are reset after the quarterfinals, but if a player receives his third booking in the second leg of that round, he will miss the first semifinal match. If Rodrygo or Bellingham pick up a yellow card in the quarterfinals, they could miss the rematch or the first leg of the semifinals.
