Real Madrid News
Real Madrid teammates unhappy with Vinicius’ behaviour vs Real Betis – report
Real Madrid suffered a major blow in their title aspirations when they were held by Real Betis, effectively allowing FC Barcelona to extend their lead at the top to nine points.
While it was a largely disappointing game for most of the Real Madrid players – some experienced a worse night than others, with Vinicius Junior, in particular, once again being a subject of racial abuse from opposition fans.
However, according to Spanish media, the Real Madrid players were not too happy with Vinicius either.
The forward was seen talking and complaining to the referee multiple times. He was already on a yellow, which meant he risked getting sent off, potentially leaving his team in greater danger.
Footage shows the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Antonio Rudiger being visibly frustrated with Vini’s complaints. Federico Valverde, too, turned his head when the Brazilian approached the referee time and time again.
According to a report from Pablo Polo Santias, Vinicius’ behaviour during the game and even after the game was not appreciated by some of his Real Madrid teammates. It is not a good sign for the Brazilian attacker, who has faced some serious backlash from opposition fans and players, for his tendency to complain and whine about every issue.
For a player who has been earmarked as the future of Real Madrid, it is perhaps time for Vinicius Junior to show more patience.
On the flip side, however, the forward has indeed been the victim of racial abuse multiple times in La Liga, and it is high time the authority takes firm actions to curb the problem. In addition, Vini is also the most fouled player on the pitch, making it significantly harder for the player to retain his sense of composure week in week out.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
