Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says he will not tell his forward Vinicius Jr to tone down his style of play despite criticism that the Brazilian has been provoking his opponents. Both Madrid and Vinicius are in ruthless form ahead of their Champions League match at home against RB Leipzig on Wednesday.
Madrid have won all five of their domestic fixtures to lead the La Liga standings and have beaten Celtic 3-0 last week in their opening Champions League Group F game. Vinicius, 22, is also in his best run of form since joining Madrid four years ago, scoring in his last five matches in all competitions.
However, the Brazilian was involved in a series of confrontations on the pitch during Madrid’s 4-1 win over Real Mallorca on Sunday, arguing with a number of visiting players as well as coach Javier Aguirre over the number of fouls he received.
But Ancelotti has played down the issue. “What I see is a great player who is demonstrating his talent, that’s it,” he told a news conference. “I’m not deaf and I’m not stupid, I can hear what is being said but this isn’t a topic for us or for Vinicius.”
Leipzig suffered a humbling 1-4 home defeat by Shakhtar Donetsk last week which led to coach Domenico Tedesco being sacked the next day. However, they have made a flying start under successor Marco Rose, who oversaw a 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday in his first game in charge.
Haaland factor
Manchester City’s new forward Erling Haaland can make all the difference in their quest for an elusive Champions League title, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said on Tuesday as the duo prepare to meet their former club Borussia Dortmund. Before Dortmund’s visit to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, Gundogan said: “We hope for it. This year having a proper number nine is going to help us a lot,” Gundogan said. “We will see and the Champions League is an incredible thing to achieve.”
(Written with inputs from Reuters)