In the 49th minute of the first leg of a Champions League knockout game between Benfica and Real Madrid in February, the Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior received the ball on the left wing of the pitch. He took the pass in stride and gently touched the ball three times as he approached the corner of the penalty box. With his fourth touch and nary a look at the goal, he struck the ball with power and curled precision past the diving Benfica goalkeeper into the far top corner of the net. The goal was both satisfying and ludicrous: Almost no one should shoot from so awkward an angle and few from such distance. Vinícius reminded the fans in Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz that he is the exception to such rules, summarily gesturing at the abbreviated name on the back of his jersey, Vini Jr., after performing a cheekily sensual dance with the corner flag in celebration.

Goals that spectacular normally inspire countless electropop-tracked YouTube compilations and set group chats aflame. Yet the moment will probably be best remembered for what happened next.

While Vinícius’s teammates joined him in celebration around the corner flag, projectiles thrown from the stands landed near the Real Madrid players. As Vinícius made his way back to half-field, a diminutive Benfica player named Gianluca Prestianni ran to intercept him. Prestianni, an Argentine, pulled at the collar of his jersey so it covered his mouth from all eyes and cameras and seemed to direct words at the Brazilian. Vinícius was perhaps distracted, as the referee was showing him a yellow card, having deemed his celebration excessive. When the players began to gather around the center circle to restart the match, Prestianni once again approached Vinícius, covered his mouth with his collar, and said something — this time, loud enough for Vinícius to hear. He immediately ran over to the referee to report that Prestianni had racially abused him by using the word mono, “monkey” in Spanish. One of Vinícius’s teammates, the French striker Kylian Mbappé, claimed he heard Prestianni say the word five times.