Vinicius Jr’s stats from the Champions League final have seen him compete with Lionel Messi in the competition’s history books.
The Real Madrid winger helped fire his side to a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday night at Wembley.
Dani Carvajal headed Los Blancos ahead, before Vinicius Jr pounced on a defensive error by Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen to slot in the second.
The Dortmund star gave possession away to England ace Jude Bellingham on the edge of the box. The midfielder then played it into Vinicius Jr, who lifted his left-footed shot over Gregor Kobel to wrap up the game.
Vinicius has now been directly involved in 22 goals in the knockout stages of the Champions League (11 goals, 11 assists).
That’s the joint-highest tally of any player under 24 years old in the competition’s history, with only Messi also previously achieving that feat.
The 23-year-old also completed eight dribbles against Dortmund, as many as every other player in the game combined (eight).
Again, that hasn’t been done by any other player in a Champions League final since Messi pulled off ten in 2015 in the 3-1 win against Juventus.
Fans immediately flooded to the timeline to hail the Brazilian, with plenty of them insisting Los Blancos’ superstar forward has to win the Ballon d’Or award.
“Vinicius Jr has just secured his Ballon d’Or,” one wrote.
A second said: “Give Vini Jr the Ballon D’Or now!”
“Vinicius must win the Ballon d’Or now,” a third added.
However, Jose Mourinho – who was on punditry duty for TNT Sports – suggested things could have been totally different under the arch had he picked up a second booking the first half.
Vinicius was given a yellow card after going for the ball as Kobel took a goal kick. Soon after, he went down despite him appearing to have no contact with Schlotterbeck.
The Dortmund star was then booked for complaining after he thought Vinicius dived.
“That’s a dive, no doubt,” Mourinho told TNT at half-time. “That’s a dive. And then Schlotterbeck gets a yellow card. Okay, you have to get the yellow card.
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“But it’s a consequence of something that he knew, he knew perfectly that was enough.”
Vinicius’ goal at Wembley marks his 24th of the season for Real Madrid, who also won LaLiga this season.
He was also the hero when he netted the winner in their last Champions League final victory over Liverpool in 2022.
Real Madrid’s Champions League triumph marks the 15th occasion the Spanish giants have been crowned European champions.
News Summary:
- Vinicius Jr emulates Lionel Messi in Champions League final but Jose Mourinho suggests Real Madrid ace could’ve seen red
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