The victories of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and Galatasaray put these clubs on the verge of the Champions League final, on a night that witnessed a new racism case against Vinicius and a harsh five-pointer against Juventus.
Published on: 02/18/2026 - 05:47 Last updated: 02/18/2026 - 16:11
Real Madrid of Spain, Paris Saint-Germain of France, Borussia Dortmund of Germany and Galatasaray of Turkey are close to reaching the eighth final of the Champions League, after strong results in the first leg of the play-off on Tuesday evening, as Real Madrid won away to Benfica 1-0, and Paris Saint-Germain overturned its deficit against Monaco to a 3-2 victory, while Dortmund beat Atalanta 2-0, and Galatasaray swept Juventus 5-2, to be held. Return matches next Wednesday.
In Lisbon, Brazilian Vinicius Junior sealed the win for Real Madrid with a beautiful shot in the 50th minute at Al Noor Stadium. Immediately afterward, he received a yellow card for allegedly provoking the fans, before the match stopped for about 15 minutes due to tension and fighting, and Vinicius protested against being subjected to a racist insult from Argentine Gianluca Pristiani, the Benfica player, as he seemed to confirm that he called him “mono” (monkey in Spanish), which necessitated the activation of the anti-racism protocol.
Benfica coach Jose Mourinho was sent off in the final minutes for objecting to French referee François Leutixier. With this victory, Real took revenge for its 2-4 defeat against Benfica at the end of the Unified Group League, and the confrontation witnessed the return of Kylian Mbappe after recovering from knee pain, while captain Federico Valverde stressed the necessity of deciding qualification in Madrid.
Read also: Champions League: Barcelona, Liverpool and City to the final 16, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid to the playoff
At Stade Louis II, Paris Saint-Germain fell behind with two early goals by American Folarin Balogun, Vitinha missed a penalty kick, and the team also lost Ousmane Dembélé to injury, but substitute Desiree Doue turned the match around by scoring two goals and assisting a goal for Achraf Hakimi, benefiting from the expulsion of Russian Alexander Golovin to bring Saint-Germain out with a valuable win away from home.
In Germany, Dortmund took an early lead over Atalanta through Serho Geraci and then Maximilian Bayer, in a match whose start was delayed by a quarter of an hour due to traffic congestion, but it did not affect the focus of the runner-up in the previous edition.
In Istanbul, Galatasaray put one foot forward in the final eight after beating Juventus 5-2, despite the guests leading 2-1 in the first half through a double by Dutchman Ton Koopmeiners.
France 24/AFP
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