Vinicius Junior prevents Real Madrid’s first loss since January

Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 11:57 PM• Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk • Last update: 00:06

Real Madrid had to settle for a draw in La Liga on Sunday evening. The team of coach Carlo Ancelotti was left with a point after a goal-rich visit to Levante: 3-3. Thanks to a strong substitute by Vinícius Júnior, the Madrid top club cleared a deficit twice in Valencia. Real Madrid’s last defeat in the competition dates back to January 30, when Levante left the capital with a 1-2 win. This was followed by fourteen victories and six draws in twenty matches.

Real Madrid went from less to more in the first half, although the opening goal came early in the game. After five minutes of play, Karim Benzema was sent deep on the left by David Alaba. The Frenchman kept the overview and saw how Gareth Bale pushed the ball in. Levante pressed well in the first half, but at the same time was unable to test goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois seriously.

In the final minutes towards halftime, Real Madrid created some dangerous moments around Aitor Fernández’s goal area. Bale’s free kick went just wide and an attempt by Isco, who left a good impression in the first 45 minutes, was also unsuccessful. Shortly after the break, Levante leveled the score: the home side scrambled their way through Real Madrid’s defence, before a Roger Marti effort eventually bounced under Courtois and over the goal line: 1-1.

Levante even took the lead in the Estadi Ciutat de València less than ten minutes later. After a good attack on the right, Jorge de Frutos crossed and the detached José Campaña was able to chase the ball behind Courtois: 2-1. Ancelotti stepped in a few minutes later and pulled Bale, Isco and Eden Hazard out in favor of Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Marcos Asensio. Not much later, Daniel Carvajal also made his appearance as a replacement for Lucas Vázquez.

Vinícius Júnior had a strong comeback. The Brazilian received a good pass from Casemiro in a counterattack, trumped his opponents on speed and outwitted Aitor with a diagonal bet. Five minutes later, however, Levante took the lead again: after a free kick by Enes Bardhi, the ball unfortunately ended up at Róber Pier via David Alaba, who shot in from close range: 3-2.

The duel could have gone either way in the final phase. For example, a bet by Alejandro Cantero ended up on the post and Real Madrid had better luck when the aluminum was hit. Vinícius Júnior received the ball on the left side of Benzema’s penalty area and put the ball in wonderfully diagonally through the right post: 3-3. Aitor did not make it to the end of the match. The goalkeeper prevented Vinícius Júnior from making the 3-4 with a handball outside the penalty area. Field player Rúben Vezo took place in the goal, but Real Madrid were unable to force a goal in six minutes of extra time.