Real Madrid: Thiabaut Courtois reacts after Vinicius Jr celebrates knocking out Benfica | OneFootball

Los Blancos advance but Kylian Mbappe could face an extended period out

Thibaut Courtois was glad to see Vinicius Jr back to his best as Real Madrid beat Benfica to reach the Champions League round of 16.

Prestianni quickly denied the claims, but was handed a provisional suspension by UEFA as they investigate the case and missed the second leg at the Bernabeu.

The exchange between Vinicius and Prestianni had followed the former's first-leg goal, which he celebrated in traditional fashion by dancing in the corner of the pitch.

A week later, after firing past Anatoliy Trubin to score Real's second at the Bernabeu, the Brazilian emulated that same celebration, and Courtois said he was pleased to see his team-mate in such good spirits.

"I always celebrate with him, even from a distance, because sometimes I'm alone back there," he explained post-match. "I'm very happy when Vini dances, because it means he's scoring goals."

Los Blancos head coach Alvaro Arbeloa echoed that call, hailing Vinicius as a leader in the squad, and calling for him to step up with Kylian Mbappe facing an extended spell on the sidelines after aggravating a pre-existing knee injury in training this week.

"We decided that Mbappe needs to stop playing and properly recover from his injury," said Arbeloa.

"He won't be out for just a few days, it'll be more than that."

He added: "We will build our gameplan around Vini Jr.

"We needed him even with Mbappé, and now that we don't have Kylian, we will need Vini even more. He's our leader."

Real will face either Sporting or Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16, with their opponent to be decided at Friday's draw.