Vinícius again the target of verbiage at heated Real Madrid win over Osasuna
NOS Football–
Before Carlo Ancelotti shows true emotion along the line, a lot must have happened. Saturday night in Pamplona was one of those nights when the Real Madrid Italian coach let himself go for a while. It was because the refereeing was not very consistent, but also because things were not going well with his team.
Real Madrid did win at Osasuna, 2-0, and as a result, the Madrilenes prevent frontrunner Barcelona from getting really far ahead in the battle for the Spanish national title. But how hard things went for Real.
With raised finger, Ancelotti stood in front of referee José Munuera Montero when he had blown the whistle just before halftime. The normally calm coach along the sidelines, had to say what it was all about.
The altercation may have been about the kicks that left winger Vinícius Júnior received from Pamplona’s tenacious defenders. But it is difficult for a referee to discern when the Brazilian is putting on an act or getting a real death kick.
Vinicius again targeted for speaking out
Vinícius was once again the target of proverbial chants before the start of the match, nota bene during the minute’s silence for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The Brazilian is regularly the victim of racist and distasteful actions by supporters.
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Vinicius argues with an opponent -
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Ancelotti in conversation with referee Munuera Montero
Three days before Real Madrid meets Liverpool in the Champions League’s eighth finals, the game did not disappoint. Osasuna could easily disrupt Real’s build-up by putting pressure early. And with a little more bad luck for Madrid, Osasuna would have made it 1-0 after an hour of play, but the number ten from Spain hit the post.
Still, Madrid’s quality, and that of Vinicius, was the deciding factor in the second half. The Brazilian pinger reached Valverde with 15 minutes to play. The Uruguayan fired in the 0-1. A goal by Vinicius was still disallowed for offside, but in injury time Marco Asensio decided the match.
Barcelona Sunday
Thus, Real Madrid finally did what was expected of them and remains somewhat close to first place. Sunday night at 9 p.m. it is up to frontrunner Barcelona to bring the gap back to eight points.
