"It motivated me even more" - Vinicius Jr on Man City pre-match tifo

Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior criticised that when he is “kicked, it is always” him who receives the yellow cards while acknowledging that he is not “a saint”, but that he “always” wants to “win”.

“Sometimes it's very complicated because the referees don't defend the players who get kicked. When I get kicked I always get the card, but my teammates and the coaching staff help me to stay focused. I'm not a saint, but I always want to win in any way,” he said on ‘Movistar +’.

He also reacted to the banner of Manchester City fans in support of Rodrigo Hernandez, for his Ballon d'Or victory over Vinicius, and in which they label Real Madrid as “crybabies” with a song by Oasis: “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”.

“I saw it, but whenever opposing fans do things it gives me more strength to play a great game. Here I played a great game again and we were able to win,” he said.

“I try not to do anything, but they know our history and they know what we can do in this competition and here we are again,” he added. On the other hand, Vinícius analysed the 2-3 win against Manchester City.

“It wasn't bad. I was able to play a great game. From the first half we defended very well. It doesn't matter who scores goals, we are here to do great things with this shirt and put Madrid at the highest level,” he said.

“The important thing was to win. I try to shoot and the ball goes to Jude, and he scores. This competition has something different with us and hopefully it will continue like this,” he continued.

“There are many games left and the second leg which is always very complicated, but we have to continue in this line; defending like today and that our fans can experience a magical night,” he concluded.

 

February 11, 2025