Real Madrid vs Benfica stats and analysis: Vinicius Junior at it again to send Los Blancos through

Vinicius Junior broke Benfica hearts for the second consecutive game as Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League round of 16.

Los Blancos quickly reacted after it looked like the Portuguese side made it interesting by scoring 14 minutes into the match.

It took Aurelien Tchouameni less than 120 seconds to put the home team back in front on aggregate. Vinicius Junior then put the final nail in the coffin in the 80th minute.

Now, the Spanish side are set to face either Manchester City or Sporting CP in the round of 16 of the Uefa Champions League.

Real Madrid’s defensive problems

Real Madrid went behind and still found a way to win. But by no means was this a convincing performance.

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Benfica had a strong start, accessing dangerous areas in central zones. Alvaro Arbeloa’s press still looks uncoordinated and leaves a lot of space between the lines for opponents to exploit. He seemed to have no problem leaving his last defenders one-on-one with no cover whatsoever.

Rafa Silva benefitted from that throughout the whole 90 minutes. He looked physically overmatched in the first leg, but played much better at Santiago Bernabeu.

Another critical problem was Real Madrid’s defending in the left-hand side. Vangelis Pavlidis often left his central areas as a striker to open up on the right. Meanwhile, Richard Rios — in theory the right-midfielder — dropped deep and tucked inside.

These constant movements confused Alvaro Carreras and Eduardo Camavinga, responsible for the left side of their 4-4-2 out of possession. Right-back Amar Dedic also had a solid start enjoying all the space he had to run into down that side.

It’s actually how Benfica scored. Richard Rios played a beautiful through ball to Vangelis Pavlidis down the right. It was precisely in the window between Carreras rushing to press and before Camavinga returning to reform the backline.

Real Madrid eventually got back into the game thanks to a Nicolas Otamendi error. An incomplete pass in the middle of the park originated a counter-attack from the home side that ended with Tchouameni placing a delightful shot in the bottom corner.

The French midfielder was one of their best performers as a sort of ‘sweeper’. Tchouameni led all players in duels contested (16) and won (9).

From then on, Los Blancos just managed the aggregate lead. There was no real intent from their attacking plays, often going forward just to pass it back and go from one side to the other.

This actually brings us to the next point.

Benfica’s brakes on

Benfica didn’t make real efforts to change the unfavourable scenario after conceding. It made sense to an extent in the first half. No real reason to go all out and expose the defence if you’re still alive and down by one goal on aggregate. But it was the plan all game long — their first substitutions came in the 85th minute.

Gonzalo Garcia replaced Kylian Mbappe but played mostly as ‘bait’ to bring Otamendi out of position. Jose Mourinho, however, had Richard Rios breaking the midfield line of four to drop deep and sometimes even cover for Otamendi at centre-back.

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In fact, the Colombian performed many roles out of possession. Another was to man-mark Carreras, who often positioned himself inside to leave the left corridor to Vinicius. It helped Benfica lower the risks and always have cover for centre-backs or full-backs.

But it also took one potential forward out of their high press. They did take a few steps forward collectively, trying to bother Real Madrid more and occupy the attacking half. There were a couple of dangerous moments in the second half – both with Rafa Silva.

Other than the goal, however, they didn’t really have a clean, high-percentage finish near the goal. And in true Mourinho fashion, it always felt like Benfica were attacking with the brakes on. Trying to go forward but in the most cautious way possible.

It made for a rather dull final 45 minutes. But as their blocks went a little higher, there was more space for Vinicius to exploit in behind. He only needed one pass to go through – and it did, thanks to Federico Valverde, late on.

The Brazilian went straight through on goal and placed it beautifully in the bottom corner to give Real Madrid the win and a spot in the round of 16.

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