these are very serious numbers’

Sunday, January 9, 2022 at 00:30• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 01:02

Vinícius Júnior has won the Spanish press with his two goals against Valencia (4-1 win). Until last summer, the 21-year-old Real Madrid left striker hadn’t been able to dispel doubts about his high price tag, but this season he is completely on the loose: “Vinic exceeds all expectations”, reviews marca after Saturday night’s win.

At the start of this season, Vinicius played star signing Eden Hazard from the base at Real and since then the Brazilian has been an integral part of Carlo Ancelotti’s formation. Where the wing striker did not manage to score more than three (!) goals in a complete football season in his first three seasons, he is now at twelve halfway through the competition. “These are very serious numbers,” he said marca. “The Real winger is extraordinary. It is clear that he did have goals in store and that he just lacked confidence before.”

The Madrid newspaper knows that the Royal holds gold. Real can rub their hands thinking about the future as Kylian Mbappe looms on the horizon. marca ahead of the alleged imminent arrival of the Paris Saint-Germain star to Madrid. Erling Braut Haaland is also explicitly linked to Real in the Spanish press. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior marked their territory for Mbappe and Haaland tonight with two goals. ASH, the other Madrid sports newspaper.

Vinicius has been absent recently due to a corona infection and made his comeback against Valencia on Saturday. “The return of Vinicius made Real flourish,” writes ASH. “It’s not hard to explain Real’s dominance in LaLiga this season: Vinicius (12) and Benzema (17) together have already scored 29 goals, more than the goal total of 13 complete teams in the competition.” Real is well ahead with eight points ahead of Sevilla, which still have two games left. Atlético Madrid and Barcelona, ​​normally the major competitors, now seem to have dropped out of no less than seventeen points.

Vinícius himself spoke nice words about his employer after the resounding victory against Valencia. “For me it is a dream to play for Real Madrid,” said the attacker in front of the camera of Movistar+. “I want to stay here for many more years to make history with this club. The trust I get from the club is very important to me.” Remarkably, Vinicius also showed his respect for the club during the game, by jumping over the Real Madrid logo, which lies on the sidelines on the ground. Dani Alves did something similar to the Barcelona logo a few days earlier.

He was also satisfied with the match itself. “We played a great game from the start,” said Vinicius. “I am very happy with the whole team’s play. If we play like today, we will win. I have to keep working and improving myself to do great things. I am always ambitious and ready to help the team. I was happy to be back in the Real shirt today and to score without a goal after four games in a row.”

No. Team m W G V +/- Pnt
1 Real Madrid 21 15 4 2 27 49
2 Seville 20 13 5 2 18 44
3 Real Betis 20 10 4 6 9 34
4 Atletico Madrid 20 9 6 5 9 33
5 Real Sociedada 20 9 6 5 1 33
6 Barcelona 20 8 8 4 8 32
7 Rayo Vallecano 20 9 4 7 6 31
8 Villarreal 20 7 8 5 11 29
9 Athletic Club 21 6 10 5 3 28
10 Valencia 20 7 7 6 0 28
11 Espanyol 20 7 5 8 -1 26
12 Osasuna 20 6 7 7 -5 25
13 Granada 20 5 9 6 -3 24
14 Celta de Vigo 20 6 5 9 -1 23
15 Real Majorca 20 4 8 8 -13 20
16 Elche 20 4 7 9 -8 19
17 getafe 20 4 6 10 -8 18
18 Alaves 20 4 5 11 -14 17
19 Cadiz 20 2 8 10 -19 14
20 Levante 20 1 8 11 -20 11