Vinicius Junior was filmed in the tunnel predicting that Valencia would “attack themselves” in the second half of their encounter with Real Madrid – a game in which the Brazilian would later be sent off.
Real Madrid turned things around against the former La Liga champions thanks to late goals from Luka Modric and Jodi Bellingham, the latter of whom had earlier missed a penalty.
The result secured three vital points for Real Madrid, led by Carlo Ancelotti, who now leads the standings, ahead of their local rival, Atletico Madrid. Barcelona occupies third place in the standings after a series of poor performances that led to the loss of three of the last five matches.
Vinicius He apologized for being fired On social media, though, he had the backing of manager Ancelotti – with the Italian saying his slap on goalkeeper Dimitrievskiy “wasn't red, it was yellow”.
It has now emerged that before Real Madrid turned the game on its head, Vinicius – the 2024 World Cup runner-up – Golden Ball And the winner of the FIFA Men's Player of the Year award – predicted in the tunnel that Valencia would collapse if the 15-time Champions League winner managed to score a goal.
“We have to respond with purpose.” Kylian Mbappé said before Vinicius responded: “Of course, when they blow the whistle for fouls. We score a goal and they foul. Just a little more, a little more and that's it.”
Frustration for Madrid is that they should have gotten back into the game earlier than they did – Bellingham's penalty miss was the third time Los Blancos have conceded from 12 yards this season.
Ancelotti admitted to reporters, saying: “It bothers me that we missed three penalty kicks,” before adding: “I think I have to take responsibility for choosing who will take them.”
