Vinicius Jr. was at the centre stage as Real Madrid secured their place in the Round of 16 of the Club World Cup after a resounding victory over Salzburg.
With a calm finish, the Brazilian opened the scoring. Then, with a brilliant backheel assist, Federico Valverde scored for the second goal.
For his performance, he received the Man of the Match prize and after the last whistle, he was overwhelmed with feeling.
“I’m very happy with the goal, the assist, and everything we’re doing in this competition,” he disclosed to the club media. “Now comes the most important moment, what we love most, and where we can win an important title for this club.”
The forward acknowledged space for improvement but applauded the team’s first-half control. “We’re feeling good; we played very well in the first half. The second half was a little weaker, but that’s normal. We need to rest for the next match, which is very important in the round of 16, and we can’t let ourselves down.
“The manager is slowly telling us what we need to do, and we’re getting into his style. Today was a good match for that.”
The Brazilian international added: “I haven’t seen the replay. But it was a good assist, I think one of the best I’ve given. Especially that it was for Valverde, who always gives me a lot of confidence. He’s one of our captains, and it’s always good when he scores.”
Having momentum and star players stepping up, Los Blancos will try to keep this form into the knockout rounds.
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