• News

​Vinicius reacts to his landmark Real Madrid goal

Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid
Getty Images
Advertisement

The Brazilian was on target on Monday to spare Real Madrid of a surprise home defeat to Real Sociedad in La Liga.

Vinicius Junior made his 100th appearance for Real Madrid on Monday night and scored the club’s only goal to salvage a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad.

The former Flamengo winger came on as a 61st-minute substitute for Isco and scored the equalizer in the dying minutes with his only shot of the match. It was the 12th goal of his Whites career, and his third in La Liga this season.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez later presented Vinicius with a special jersey to commemorate reaching the century mark in terms of appearances.

“It’s really exciting to have played and given my all for this shirt in 100 games,” the 20-year-old told the club’s website.

“It’s a big achievement to play 100 games in these colors. I’m delighted and this is a very special day for me. I’ve told my family that it’s been really exciting to make 100 appearances and to give everything for this shirt, which we love so dearly.”

Real Madrid almost paid a big price for failing to convert their first-half dominance into goals after Portu handed La Real a surprise lead after the break.

But while the visitors’ resolute defense proved tough to break down, Vinicius’ close-range finish salvaged Zinedine Zidane’s side a point. They’re now five points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid ahead of this weekend’s derby.

“In the first half, we played really well, but we gave them a bit of space in the second half and they punished us for it,” Vinicius said on the draw.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t get the win we needed. We’d aimed to win all five games before the derby, but we got a draw in the last one. We have to continue on in this vein if we want to win things this season.”

x