Champions League – Before Manchester City-Real Madrid: Vinicius Jr, time and place to confirm the explosion

It has been repeated over and over again, Vinicius is no longer just a young hope that we are just discovering, but indeed a pure talent that already existed and which has shown the extent of its potential this season. He is much more efficient, much more dangerous, and will undoubtedly be one of Carlo Ancelotti’s strong men against Manchester City on Tuesday evening (9 p.m.). But with these qualities and this new status of permanent danger come several consequences that can prove problematic.

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Changes in attitudes to assimilate

Who says change of status says new expectations of defenders. Vinicius is more particularly expected, feared, and the adversaries adapt their plan to the threat he represents. It is enough to see the preferential treatment reserved by Barça for the Brazilian during the last Clasico a month ago to understand the phenomenon: a constant two-man take from the 20th minute of play, repeated tackles, and a sight pointed to the number 20 merengue. From the height of his 21 years, the young winger was the target of muscular interventions from the Catalan defense, but above all of repeated taunts from Gérard Piqué and Eric Garcia. “You are the Ballon d’Or next year“the two Spaniards had insistently mocked an opponent to whom they had inflicted that evening a heavy 4-0 defeat.

“Vinicius knows that the most dangerous players are the ones the opposition will pay the most attention to and commit more fouls than necessary, but that’s completely normal. This means that Vinicius is very dangerous and they fear him“, had defended on this subject Carlo Ancelotti for Movistar +. With a new performance, Vinicius also enjoys a new rank that he must master, because he could make him see bigger than he really is. Become indispensable on his left wing in Madrid, the international auriverde had very little taste of his replacement at the hour of play against Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup a few weeks ago, which had earned him admonitions from of his trainer.

An optimal context to shine with a thousand lights

And if he monopolizes so much attention, Vinicius Junior loves light above all, and the space given to him to shine. In a season where it exploded, but where paradoxically we don’t talk almost only Karim Benzema at Real Madrid, he will have the opportunity on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium to confirm that he is one of the executives of Casa Blanca in 2021-2022. Because we arrive in the last four of the most prestigious of competitions. Because it’s Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City opposite. And because he will undoubtedly have a major role to play in this double confrontation.

Against a possession team like the SkyBlues, his qualities of speed, percussion and elimination make him the perfect profile to undermine the English defence. Especially since the latter will be a priori very poor, deprived of suspended João Cancelo, and probably of Kyle Walker and John Stones, not yet back from injury and very uncertain for the first leg in Manchester. To make up for so many absences, the young and inexperienced CJ Egan-Riles could well be established as a right-back by Guardiola. In other words, holy bread for Vinicius.

In 2022, the big meetings, Vinicius knows. Decisive against PSG then against Chelsea in the Champions League, the former Flamengo also opened his goal counter with the Seleçao, in a match where he had invited no less than 120 relatives to come and see him play at the Maracana! It is therefore probably not the relatively calm Etihad Stadium which should stop him on Tuesday evening (9 p.m.), he who is “calm“, in the words of his trainer.”Vinicius wants to help the team first and foremost. He’s been doing it since the start of the season and he’s still going.“. So everything is in place to bring him (definitively) out of the shadows now.

Vini Jr ready to (definitely) come out of the shadows at Real Madrid)

Credit: Getty Images

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