Alonso to punish Vinicius….or not

Vinícius has a problem and it‘s not anything new. He doesn‘t have a problem with playing football. At El Clasico he was inspired and imaginative, spinning past two Barça players along the sideline; Pedri was tugging at him for almost five meters before finally managing to draw a yellow card for himself. But he has a problem with authorities, with fans, with opposition players...with everybody. When Xabi Alonso decided to take him off the field on Sunday, chaos followed, directed by the Brazilian himself: “Me? Again me? Mister, mister!” shouted Vini in the 71st minute.

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On TV, it seemed as though Xabi Alonso didn’t even bother to look at him. But the reality was different. The Basque coach actually hurried him along and even swore at him in the process. Vini talked back, and what especially caught fans’ attention was DAZN’s post-match revelation that Vinícius said, as he was walking off:

“I’m leaving! I’m out of here! I’d rather just go.”

He went straight to the locker room, and although goalkeeping coach Luis Llopis managed to convince him to return to the bench, it’s clear that Vinícius’ behavior will once again be a topic of discussion with Alonso. The coach even confirmed as much.

“I'm taking away many positive things from Vini Jr. 's game, and I don't want to lose focus on what's important. He contributed a lot. It's an important victory, deserved, even short because of the chances and the penalty. Regaining the feeling of a competitive team in big games is important. All coaches know there are different personalities. Now we'll enjoy it, and when the time comes, we'll talk about these things in the locker room, of course“ he said after the game.

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Pro-Barcelona Mundo Deportivo wrote that the club will likely sanction Vinicius for his outburst. The dressing room considers him to be a bad teammate, although it's not the first time the Brazilian has shown his anger at Xabi Alonso when the latter decides to leave him on the bench or replace him in a match. Real executives think that as the third captain, he cannot offer that image. But pro-Real‘s ‘Marca‘ is writing that there will be no sanctions for the Brazilian forward. The club considers this an internal matter that falls exclusively to Xabi Alonso's management of the dressing room and is not considering intervening in an issue that concerns only the Real Madrid player and his manager.

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 10

Friday

Real Sociedad - Sevilla 2-1 (2-1)

/Oyarzabal 19 pen, 36 - Gudelj 30/

Saturday

Girona - Oviedo 3-3 (0-1)

/Ounahi 83, Stuani 64 pen, 90 pen - Vinas 38 pen, Rondon 57, Carmo 90+7/

Espanyol - Elche 1-0 (0-0)

/Romero 47/

Athletic Bilbao - Getafe 0-1 (0-0)

/Mayoral 75/

Valencia - Villareal 0-2 (0-1)

/Moreno 45 pen, Comesana 57/

Sunday

Mallorca - Levante 1-1 (0-1)

/Maffeo 79 - Eyong 22/

Real Madrid - Barcelona 2-1

/Mbappe 22, Bellingham 43 - Lopez 38/

Osasuna - Celta 2-3 (2-1)

/Budimir 37 pen, 45+1 - Jutgla 26, 69, Duran 87/

Rayo Vallecano - Alaves 1-0 (0-0)

/Alemao 90+1/

Monday

23.00: (3.20) Betis (3.40) Atletico Madrid (2.25)

***odds are subject to change***