Vinícius Júnior defended his on-field behaviour after scoring a hat trick in Real Madrid’s 4-1 Clásico win over Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final, while admitting that “I’m no saint.”
The Brazil forward scored twice in the first ten minutes to put Madrid on top in Riyadh, before Robert Lewandowski responded for Barca. Vinícius added a third from the penalty spot before half-time, and Rodrygo Goes’ fourth secured the win before Ronald Araújo was sent off.
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However, Vinicius also clashed with Barca’s bench, with TV cameras showing him making a ‘4-1’ gesture towards them, reflecting the scoreline, late in the game.
“It makes me sad. Everyone wants to fight with me, because they know it will be ‘Vini did this, Vini did that’ in the press,” Vinicius said in a post-match news conference, after being named the final’s MVP. “I try to stay calm and focused on doing as well as possible. It’s not all about me.
“Of course, I’m no saint,” he added. “Sometimes I talk too much, sometimes I dribble when I shouldn’t. But I’m here to improve, and to be a role model to kids. I want to improve.”
Vinicius celebrated his first goal by imitating Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark goal celebration, with the Supercopa being played at Al-Awwal Park, home of Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
“The celebration was for Cris,” Vinicius said. “He’s my idol, and he’s playing here now… I’m very happy with what we did today. Beating Barcelona isn’t easy and winning 4-1 is difficult. It was almost a perfect game.”
Madrid president Florentino Perez praised Vinicius’ performance, while joking that he’s asked the forward to score more often.
“Vinicius almost always shines,” Perez said. “Scoring three goals isn’t normal but today he deserved it. He always does. The effort he makes in every game is phenomenal, providing assists and scoring goals, that’s why he’s one of the best in the world.”
Perez praised coach Ancelotti, who recently extended his contract at the club — saying “Real Madrid and Ancelotti fit together perfectly” — and refused to discuss links with a move for Kylian Mbappé.
Real Madrid fans are focused on these players, for sure, look at how happy they are.”
The Supercopa final saw Ancelotti overtake Zinedine Zidane in games managed as Madrid coach, with 264, and draw level with him on 11 trophies won at the club.
“[Vinicius] played very well,” Ancelotti said. “He needed two or three games to get back to his best level, but he’s back… Sometimes it’s been difficult for him [in Clásicos], because Ronald Araujo is a world-class defender. Today he looked for space inside, not always on the outside, and that allowed him to score.”
