Sometimes annoying in his communication, the Brazilian nonetheless remains a real machine. Like his double yesterday, he put Bayern Munich to death. In one gesture, he is capable of changing the destiny of an encounter. Like on this opening score where his simple counter-call made Kim look like a winner. “Toni makes it easy, he gave me the goal”, he began after the meeting. “I'm very happy, I'm happy to have scored two goals. We never want to lose in this competition, we are here to do great things.”
In a more central position where he still dezones to the left, his preferred side, he is a real poison for the opposing defense or Kim-Jae will have nightmares for a long time. “Vinicius does what Cristiano Ronaldo did”, explains Marca in particular. “On big nights, what we ask of a star is to transform the first opportunity into a goal. And that’s what Vinicius did at the Allianz Arena. Bayern were knocked out and the Brazilian took advantage of Kroos' genius to make it 0-1 and put out the fire in Munich. Last week, Carlo Ancelotti announced that his player could still improve. And that’s precisely what the Italian demanded of him: that he appear in key moments.” Before continuing: “As in the Classic against Manchester City, Vinicius assumed his responsibilities and transformed himself with the courage of a goalscorer. A tie that calls for a final at the Bernabéu. Madrid may be better. But if anyone can beat him, it’s Bayern.”
“A metamorphosis”
For its part, AS highlights the progress of the Madrid number 7. “Nothing remains of the 'failed' Vinicius. Nothing, except memory”, the newspaper begins. “That of a footballer with the number 28 on his back and shaved hair which illustrates how, with work and resilience, anything can be fixed.”
One thing is certain, the Madrid newspaper believes that he is the great man of this Real. “Vini had already become a killer, a great scorer. He has become a man who is always there on important evenings. The proof in the numbers: it went from one goal every 723 minutes to every 129 minutes. From desert to oasis. It is not an improvement, but a metamorphosis.”
“The big man of the match”
It's not just in Spain that Vinicius JR has impressed. The performance of the heir to CR7 in Madrid did not escape the newspaper L'Equipe which gave him a score of 8/10, the best of the 22 actors. “The big man of the match”begins the French media. “He was the most dangerous and decisive player. The one that hurt Neuer the most, even if the German goalkeeper deprived him of the hat-trick by winning their face-to-face after a good opening from Modric (79th). Very fair in his call and very serene in his duel with Neuer, on the opening score (24th). Then very determined to convert the penalty for 2-2 (83rd). A permanent danger. No fault of taste.”
In another article, L'Equipe is also impressed by the attacker's trajectory. “There was a time, not so long ago, when Vinicius Junior needed (too) many chances to score a goal. It is well and truly over. Because this Tuesday, at the Allianz Arena, the Brazilian international striker (23 years old, 28 caps, 3 goals) administered a relentless lesson in realism.”
