Vinicius Junior riles up opposition again

Opening the scoring with a  beautiful trivela effort, Vinicius Junior was in fine form against Levante on Tuesday night, as Los Blancos warmed up for the Madrid derby with a 4-1 win. However impressive he was in terms of his play, his sportsmanship was called into question after the game.

The Brazilian scored the opening goal at the Ciutat de Valencia, and then provided the assist for Franco Mastantuono’s first goal for the club. Late on Vinicius passed up a chance for his second, but undoubtedly it was the most comfortable and impressive performance he has put in this season, amid plenty of discussion over his role under Xabi Alonso.

Vinicius is a regular pantomime villain away from the Santiago Bernabeu, but seemed to rile up Levante captain on the night Unai Elgezabal more than the crowd. Speaking to Cadena SER after the game, Elgezabal gave a damning indictment of Vinicius not as a footballer, but as a person.

“I don’t want to add fuel to the fire, but it’s true that when we’re disrespected, not just us, but the fans and the team we represent. We’re people too, and we have to say enough is enough. I know [Vinicius] is a player with a lot of potential, but there are certain situations that I don’t let slide as a person.”

“I think I defend and transmit values that sometimes you have to say enough is enough. It wasn’t the time for that; for me, it was out of place… And well, that’s it. I don’t want to make more of a fuss about it because it’s not necessary, but I defend my people. And that’s all I can say.”

The Basque defender did not go into details on what had caused such an outburst, but images do show Vinicius touching his face before Kylian Mbappe struck a penalty that Elgezabal had given away. It is not yet clear whether he was taunting Elgezabal, or if he said something else, as clearly that would not be disrespecting the fans as a whole.

Vinicius has been the subject of vile racial persecution in recent years, and understandably has reacted in situations in the past while on the pitch. However he has admitted that enjoys winding up defenders, and that some needle in games gives him more motivation on the pitch.