Champions League: Vinicius helps Real Madrid advance, PSG and Atalanta also through

With the winning goal and another corner-flag dance, Vinícius Júnior fittingly had the final say in an emotionally charged rematch with Benfica to guide Real Madrid into the round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain also advanced out of the playoffs — but only after narrowly getting past Monaco — while Atalanta pulled off a remarkable comeback against Borussia Dortmund with a dramatic last-second goal to maintain Italian involvement in the competition.

Juventus fell short of completing its own stunning second-leg recovery, though, eliminated by Galatasaray after extra time.

Playing a week after being the target of alleged racial abuse in the first leg against Benfica, Vinícius wrapped up Madrid’s 2-1 win over the Portuguese team — and a 3-1 victory on aggregate — with his team’s second goal in the 80th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

The Brazil star slotted a low finish into the corner and celebrated his goal like he did last week, by dancing beside the corner flag.

Vinícius was loudly booed by Benfica fans nearly every time he touched the ball, a hangover from the first leg when he accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a “monkey”

Prestianni has denied racially insulting Vinícius while confronting him with his jersey over his mouth, but did not play Wednesday’s game after being provisionally banned for one match by UEFA. Benfica coach Jose Mourinho, who previously led Madrid, was also suspended for the game so didn't take his place in the dugout.

Benfica opened the scoring in the 14th minute through Rafa Silva to briefly bring the score level at 1-1 on aggregate, only for Aurelien Tchouameni to equalize two minutes later for Madrid.

Madrid maintained its record of playing in the round of 16 every year this century and will play either Manchester City or Sporting Lisbon next.

PSG also survived an early scare in the second leg to advance out of the playoffs for a second straight season.

Protecting a 3-2 lead from last week, the titleholder went behind to Maghnes Akliouche's 45th-minute goal but was then boosted by a red card to Monaco's Mamadou Coulibaly in the 58th.

Goals by Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put PSG in front in the game. Jordan Teze’s stoppage-time equalizer came too late for Monaco.

PSG's reward is a meeting with either Barcelona or Chelsea.

PSG right back Achraf Hakimi played a day after being ordered to stand trial in a rape case.

Juventus almost pulled off one of the great Champions League recoveries.

Trailing 5-2 from the first leg, Juve went ahead against Galatasaray when Manuel Locatelli converted a penalty before halftime and overcame a red card to its defender Lloyd Kelly by scoring more goals through Federico Gatti and Weston McKennie to take the game to extra time.

It could have been worse for Galatasaray, with Kenan Yıldız also hitting the post for Juventus in regulation.

Galatasaray fought back in the added 30 minutes with an extra man, scoring through Victor Osimhen and Barış Yılmaz as Juve won 3-2 on the night but lost 7-5 on aggregate.

With Juventus out, Italy’s record of having at least one team in the round of 16 since that stage was reintroduced to the Champions League in 2003-04 was only maintained thanks to Atalanta’s remarkable fightback against Dortmund.

Atalanta substitute Lazar Samardzic converted a penalty with the last kick of the game in the eighth minute of stoppage time following a video review to seal a 4-1 win on the night and a 4-3 victory on aggregate.

Extra time was looming when a mistake by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel allowed Atalanta to launch one last attack, after the allotted three minutes of stoppage time had been played. A cross into the area was about to reach Nikola Krstovic when Dortmund defender Remy Bensabaini flicked out his boot and caught the Atalanta substitute on the head, drawing blood.

A corner was initially given but after a VAR check, a penalty was awarded, Bensabaini was shown a second yellow card, and Samardzic sent his penalty into the top corner, sparking joyous scenes inside the stadium in Bergamo.

Serie A champion Napoli didn’t even make the playoffs after finishing in 30th place in the 36-team league phase and Inter Milan was eliminated by tiny Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt in the playoffs on Tuesday.

Atalanta will play either Arsenal or Bayern Munich next.

Bodø/Glimt, Atletico Madrid, Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen all advanced from the playoffs on Tuesday.

The draw for the round of 16 is on Friday.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Juventus' Vasilije Adzic reacts during a Champions League soccer match between Juventus and Galatasaray, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Turin, Italy (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.left, and Marquinhos hug after a goal during a Champions League second leg playoff soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco in Paris Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Atalanta's Mario Pasalic celebrates after scoring their third goal during the Champions League second leg playoff match between Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund in Bergamo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Atalanta's Mario Pasalic celebrates after scoring their third goal during the Champions League second leg playoff match between Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund in Bergamo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

Atalanta's Davide Zappacosta (77) celebrates after scoring their second goal during the Champions League second leg playoff match between Atalanta and Borussia Dortmund in Bergamo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

PSG's Goncalo Ramos, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Metz in Paris, France, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior argues with Benfica's head coach José Mourinho after scoring the opening goal during a Champions League playoff soccer match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid in Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Rocha)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior argues with referee François Letexier after scoring the opening goal during a Champions League playoff soccer match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid in Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Rocha)

U.S. forces on Monday launched an effort to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where hundreds have been stuck since the Iran war began.

Two American-flagged merchant ships have “successfully transited” through the critical waterway, the U.S. military said. Separately, the U.S. military denied Iran’s claims that it struck an American Navy vessel southeast of the strait.

Iran handed over its latest proposal for negotiations with the U.S. to mediators in Pakistan, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday. Trump subsequently said he’s “not satisfied” with it, but did not elaborate on the proposal’s apparent shortcomings. The shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has lasted for three weeks.

Here's the latest:

The U.S. stock market is holding tentatively near its record heights Monday, while oil prices climb with uncertainty about when oil tankers can resume crossing the Strait of Hormuz and restore the world’s flow of crude. Dueling claims about a possible Iranian strike on a U.S. Navy vessel in the strait heightened the tensions.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 216 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 2% to $110.37 and briefly topped $114 during the morning. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to its war with the United States has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide. That in turn has sent the price of Brent soaring from roughly $70 per barrel before the war.

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Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between the Trump administration and Pope Leo over U.S. policies, particularly with Iran.

The State Department said Monday that Rubio, a devout Catholic who’s visited Rome and the Vatican at least three times since becoming Trump’s top diplomat, would be in Italy on Thursday and Friday.

“Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere” the department said. “Meetings with Italian counterparts will be focused on shared security interests and strategic alignment.”

The trip comes as Trump has criticized Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, for his stances on the Middle East and elsewhere and posting social media images likening Trump to Jesus Christ.

The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region.

Trump has promised to bring down gas prices as he faces midterm elections this year.

The U.S. has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran for transit of the strait. It has enacted a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling 49 commercial ships to turn back, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

U.S. officials have expressed hope the blockade forces Iran back to the negotiation table.

The U.S. military said Monday that two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz and Navy guided-missile destroyers in the Persian Gulf were helping to restore shipping traffic. It separately denied Iran’s claims to have struck an American Navy vessel.

The announcement came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new initiative to help guide ships through the critical waterway for global energy. Iran has effectively closed the strait since the U.S. and Israel started the war Feb. 28, rattling the global economy.

The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center has advised ships to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it set up an “enhanced security area.” U.S. Central Command didn’t say when the Navy ships arrived or when the merchant vessels departed.

It was unclear whether shipping companies, and their insurers, will feel comfortable taking the risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so.

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President Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. step off from Marine One upon their arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

President Donald Trump walks from Marine One to board Air Force One at Ocala International Airport, in Ocala Fla., Friday, May 1, 2026, after speaking at an event in The Villages, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President Donald Trump steps off from Marine One upon his arrival at the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)