Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. has gone viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, after Spanish … [+]
Getty ImagesReal Madrid star Vinicius Jr. has gone viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, after Spanish broadcaster Movistar shared footage of him being angry with teammate Dani Ceballos during their recent defeat against Espanyol.
Defending La Liga champion Madrid was expected to make easy work of a relegation-threatened foe in Barcelona’s western suburbs.
Returning to the first XI, however, Ballon d’Or runner up Vinicius was largely ineffective as Carlo Ancelotti’s men failed to find the back of the net.
The Brazilian did at one stage of the proceedings, but a push on Pol Lozano by Kylian Mbappe meant that his first half effort was ruled out.
In the second half, there was further controversy when Carlos Romero hacked down Mbappe from behind on a counter attack and received just a yellow card when head coach Ancelotti believed it should have been an instant dismissal.
“It seems inexplicable to us that he has not shown the red card. It’s inexplicable about the referee and the VAR, which is what it’s for. The most important thing is to watch and take care of the players,” Ancelotti said post-match.
“The tackle was ugly, with a risk of injury, and I find it inexplicable that he didn’t get the red card. Everyone has seen it,” the Italian then added.
What rubbed further salt into the wound is the fact that Romero went on to score the winner and only goal of the game which has given title race rival Atletico Madrid the chance to top the league if it beats Los Blancos in the derby on Saturday.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the Catalan capital, Barca overcame Deportivo Alaves 1-0 itself to reduce Madrid’s seven point lead against it to just four.
As the fallout from the Espanyol loss continues, and the back-and-forth between the club, the league and its federation intensifies, footage has emerged of Vinicius visibly angry with his teammate Dani Ceballos during the match.
In a one-minute clip seen by more than 1.5 million X users at the time of publishing, Vinicius is seen constantly complaining about Ceballos’ passes – or lack thereof in his direction – while also involving Ancelotti and captain Lucas Vazquez in the exchange of views.
On Wednesday in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals versus Leganes, Vinicius will be fielded up front in a striker pairing of wingers alongside Rodrygo because of Mbappe being ruled out.
He’ll expect passes from deep sent to him by Ceballos, as Madrid endeavours to make it to the last four of the competition in the first of three key fixtures across eight days.
Read the full article here
