“Bad game then” - Vinicius Jr reacts to equaling Ronaldo Nazario as Brazilian with most number of goals at Real Madrid
Vinicius Jr has admitted it was a special day for him on a personal level after equaling Ronaldo Nazario's record (104 goals) at Real Madrid. He achieved the feat after finding the back of the net in the 2-1 loss to Valencia.
Speaking to the media after the loss, Vinicius Jr stated that it was his dream to become the best Brazilian at the club and he managed to achieve it on Saturday night. He said via Madrid Universal:
“It’s a special day for me to reach same goals as my idol Ronaldo, he showed me how to do it when I arrived at Real Madrid as a kid. Bad game then, we know we have to improve… but remember, at Real Madrid we never give up."
Vinicius spoke about the plan in January and told Movistar via ESPN:
"I'm happy to score goals in this shirt. I'm three goals away from Ronaldo, from being the Brazilian with most goals in this shirt. Let's hope I can score more."
Real Madrid slipped up in the title race after suffering a 2-1 loss to Valencia. Vinicius Jr missed a penalty in the first-half, minutes before Mouctar Diakhaby gave the away side the lead at Santiago Bernabeu.
The Brazilian scored early in the second half, but an injury-time goal by Hugo Duro managed to give Valencia a stunning win for the site, who were 16th in the table ahead of the game.
Carlo Ancelotti on Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid's loss to Valencia
Vinicius Jr was booed by Los Blancos faithful in the first half after the Brazilian missed the penalty against Valencia. Carlo Ancelotti spoke about the boos and said via Madrid Universal:
"Vinicius is focused on what he’s doing. He may play well or poorly, but he’s focused on what he’s doing."
Talking about the title race, Ancelotti added:
“It’s much more difficult to fight for the league title now, but we’re determined to do well until the end. We have a chance, less so after this match, but we have to fight until the end. It’s a complicated season in terms of penalties. Bellingham, Mbappe, and Vinicius have missed. I’ve tried to give him confidence, but he missed this one too."
“We created a ton of chances and were very close to scoring. We may have lacked effectiveness, and in recovering the ball, but we conceded very little. It’s true that opponents don’t need much to score against us in these moments. We took risks to try to win; a draw wouldn’t have been enough for us, and we got through that counterattack. We did well offensively. We lacked some effectiveness."
Real Madrid are now four points behind Barcelona with just eight matches left in the season. They are still six points clear of Atletico Madrid, but the Rojiblancos have a game in hand – they face Sevilla on Sunday away from home.
