Vinicius Junior played a decisive role at the most critical moment, leading Real Madrid to defeat Manchester City and enter the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Brazilian forward, who scored twice in the 2-1 win and won the Man of the Match award, was at the heart of all the dangers for his team.
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But rather than focus purely on his own goals, Vinicius chose to comment on the importance of collective performance and results.
He admitted that while Real Madrid were efficient, there was room for improvement in his own shooting ability.
“This is a very important game for our confidence. We’ve had a lot of good games since the start of the season but we didn’t control it as well as we did in this game.
“It was a tough game against a great team and a great coach, but we knew what we had to do.
“We took advantage of our opportunities. I missed a lot, but we didn’t need that much,” he explained.
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Important victory for Real Madrid
Looking beyond the game itself, Vinicius made it clear that this win came at a crucial moment in the season, when momentum could determine how far Real Madrid go in La Liga and the Champions League.
“This is a crucial moment and all the players know important games are coming.
Vinicius scored twice against Manchester City. (Photo by Carl Lessing/Getty Images)
“In this game, at Real Madrid, everything changes and we are ready for more.”
penalty
Another key talking point of the game was the penalty situation, especially considering Vinicius missed a penalty in the first leg.
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Still, he took responsibility again, explaining later that it came down to trust within the squad.
“I told Federico Valverde to take the first-leg penalty but he didn’t want to. I told him again today but he has complete trust in me.” he said.
explain celebrations
As well as the goals and decisions on the pitch, there was a personal aspect to Vinicius’ celebrations.
He mimicked crying in front of the Manchester City fans after scoring, a direct response to the banners aimed at him following last season’s Ballon d’Or defeat.
Speaking about that moment and the meaning behind it, he concluded:
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“That’s the good thing about football, there’s always another chance. We came and we won.”
“We’re going into the quarterfinals with our fans, our families, all of our players and our coaching staff who mean everything to us.”
Source: Real Madrid official website
