Target of racist act, Vini Jr. marks, dances and helps Real eliminate Atlético

The target of a violent provocation practiced by Atlético de Madrid fans, Vinícius Junior entered the field this Thursday (26), at the Santiago Bernabéu, scored a goal and celebrated dancing, alongside his Real Madrid teammates, a victory by 3 to 1 over Madrid rivals.

The result guaranteed the classification of Carlo Ancelotti’s team for the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. Morata opened the scoring for the colchoneros and Rodrygo equalized for the meringues, which took the decision to extra time, which ended with a triumph thanks to goals scored by Benzema and Vini Jr.

Atlético fans left the climate of the classic quite heavy hours before the match. A doll dressed in Vini Jr.’s shirt. was hung from a bridge in Madrid, hanged by a rope, below a banner with the phrase: “Madrid hates Real”, the motto of the fan club Frente Atlético.

The act made Atlético itself publish a note of repudiation and triggered an emergency meeting convened by the State Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport in Spain, which classified the episode as “despicable”.

The provocation in a threatening tone was one of many attacks on the young Brazilian striker, who is constantly the victim of racism in Spain. Before the Madrid derby last September, won 2-1 by the merengue team, Colchonero fans chanted racist chants directed at Vini Jr. During the match, played at the Metropolitano, he was the target of more offenses.

Once again having to deal with racism, Vini was active during the first half at the Santiago Bernabéu but, like the entire Real Madrid team, he struggled to get past the opposing defence. Atlético itself did not show great offensive mobilization. Despite this, he found the way to the goal in a quick exchange of passes that ended with a pass from Molina to Morata, inside the small area, pushing for the net.

The first half was difficult for the Meringue team until the end. The game was very concentrated on attempts by Vini on the left and did not yield great opportunities. In the second stage, Real’s moves began to flow better, with good participation from the Brazilian striker, but there was still a lack of zeal at the time of conclusion. Real’s main hope for goals, Benzema was not having his best day and made some mistakes that he doesn’t usually make, from dominating the ball to finishing.

The decision-making power expected from the Frenchman was shown by Rodrygo, who came off the bench in the 24th minute and needed nine minutes on the field to score a great goal. He lined up in the Colchonera defense, leaving Witsel, Hermoso, Savic and Molina along the way, and concluded the beautiful shot inside the area with a right foot touch to overcome goalkeeper Oblak, at 33.

In the final minutes, Atlético de Madrid had chances to get back in front of the scoreboard with Griezmann, who knocked out, and Depay, who stopped Courtois. With that, the tie persisted and the game was taken to overtime.

The start of extra time presented a very positive scenario for Real. Colchonero defender Savic received the second yellow card and was expelled. A short time later, at 13, Vini had the chance to score after a cross from Asensio, but pierced the ball. Anyway, Benzema was behind, on the second post, to score the goal. In the last minute, Vini invaded the area and shot to close the score, before starting to dance.