7/26/2023 0 Comments Vinicius jr rainbow flickThe Argentines started on the front foot and counterpressed well which cause Brazil a lot of trouble. The home side were dominant in the early stages and suffocated Brazil’s possession game. Casemiro was not included in the squad due to yellow card accumulation. With qualification to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar already secured, Tite rolled out a heavily rotated starting eleven which included Vinicius Jr. and Eder Militao played the full 90 minutes in Brazil’s scoreless draw in Argentina. There would be no shortage of takers if that changed.Vinicius Jr. Yet there has not been murmur of England being a better home for him yet. He was called a monkey by fans earlier in the season and there have been calls for legal action over the racism he has faced. Atletico fans hung an effigy of Vinícius in January, which was condemned by La Liga and both Madrid rivals. He has become the player that Brazilians thought Neymar would be, lighting up the biggest tournament in Europe with his pace and ruthlessness in front of goal. A show of loyalty to his club in a city that has been home for five years, since he joined for a little under £40million from Flamengo. Vinícius, after scoring his wonder goal against City, wheeled away to the touchline and was slapping the Real badge in celebration. But the true Galacticos, those called on to be match-winners in the biggest of matches, they stay at the club unless asked to leave. Casemiro and Raphael Varane have shown there is plenty left in the tank for their Manchester United careers, Martin Odegaard has used Arsenal as a platform to show his talent, while even Alvaro Morata was a Real first-teamer. Not all of them have been cast-offs either. There has been a fair bit of traffic between Madrid and the Premier League in recent seasons. But as it stands, even when Chelsea were spending in January and breaking the British record for an incoming transfer, there was no talk of Vinícius. At Real, they are used to having a long run-up to signings and making it clear who they are targeting. Until it is announced, he only has one full season left on his current terms which begs the question as to why Premier League clubs are not trying to exert pressure to bring him to England. While there has been no official announcement over a contract extension, there have been some reports in Spain over it being agreed. It is no surprise that Real inserted a buyout clause of €700 million in his contract, given how highly regarded he is at the Bernabeu and how others around Europe view him. It was not a knockout blow but a warning as to what could happen next week. For half an hour it was only City, with Real on the ropes until they found Vinícius. But the team did well," said the Real Madrid manager, which seemed an understatement, perhaps with next week at the Etihad Stadium in mind.Īncelotti has one of the most potent players in the competition leading his attack. "He is a great striker in a fantastic moment. He's the type of player that can hit it as hard as he wants and gets pure contact on it."Ĭarlo Ancelotti was more focused on his team's performance than that of his star forward. "He stays inside, rather than going wide, as that is where he is most dangerous. "Special player, special goal," was the verdict of Champions League winner Rio Ferdinand. There are no recorded measurements on the hardest side-footed shots in football but Vinícius' would be up there with the most powerful. Ruben Dias' attempted block meant there was one part of the goal to aim at, which Vini found while in a full sprint. When the ball was offloaded to Vinicius, the first touch set him for a strike on goal. From under pressure, to bearing down on Ederson's goal. Eduardo Camavinga carried the ball forward after a touch from Luka Modric had beaten the City press. "The first chance they had, they scored an incredible goal," said City midfielder Rodri. City had enjoyed possession, more than 70 per cent of it, but in a couple of seconds their hard work was undone and they were behind in the tie. In the years to come when his goal is shown, it will be forgotten that it was totally against the run of play. Vinícius is an A-list leading actor standing in the way of City and the Champions League final. It is usually only seen in warm-ups or possibly Hollywood movies. The Real Madrid forward pointed to the sky, presumably reminding Walker that he tried to beat him with a Rainbow Flick, that audacious piece of skill flicking the ball from the floor to over the opponent's head. It was pure respect from the Manchester City full-back after going toe-to-toe, sprint-for-sprint, with the Brazilian and only conceding to a moment of pure beauty. Just after the final whistle at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Kyle Walker wandered over to Vinícius Júnior and broke into a laugh before the pair embraced.
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