Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior risks a suspension of four to 12 matches for pushing the opposing team’s goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski during the 79th minute of the La Liga match against Valencia, which ended 2-1 at the Mestella. After the incident, the Brazilian player was sent off. According to Spanish La Liga regulations, such aggressive behaviour without an attempt to play the ball is punishable by suspension. According to Spanish language media outlet Mundo Deportivo, Vinicius will likely receive the minimum penalty of four matches. This could exclude him from participating in the Supercopa de Espana semifinal against Mallorca, and if they advance to the final, he may miss the match against Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao.
Vinicius has been with Real Madrid since July 2018. He has played a total of 286 matches for the club, scoring 97 goals and providing 83 assists. He was recently named the best player of 2024 at the FIFA Best Awards.
Real Madrid won at Mestalla on La Liga Matchday 12 going top of the table in the process, in a fixture that had been postponed due to the floods. Real Madrid went into half-time trailing 1-0, but in the second half, and with everything going against them, the defending champions showed once again that they will not give up until the end. Despite being a player down due to the sending off of Vini Jr. in the 79th minute, Ancelotti’s men came from behind with goals from Modric in the 85th minute and Bellingham in added time.
It didn’t feel like the first game back after the Christmas break. The first half was played at a very high tempo and both sides created many chances. The first was for Ancelotti’s side after five minutes when Lucas Vazquez teed up Valverde but his powerful shot was blocked by Dimitrievski.
The home side responded twice and on both occasions were met with two great stops by Courtois, first after Hugo Duro’s shot inside the area in the 7th minute and five minutes later in a one-on-one with Foulquier.
The game showed no signs of slowing down and before the half-hour mark Valencia took the lead. Courtois made a spectacular save from Javi Guerra’s shot from inside the area, but Hugo Duro took advantage of the rebound to score in the 27th minute. From that moment until the break, Ancelotti’s side went in search of an equaliser with Tchouameni and Valverde coming closest with long-range shots in the 34th and 38th minute respectively. The best chance came after a great pass from Ceballos who put Vini Jr. one-on-one with Dimitrievski, but he again saved his team.
Real Madrid, however, managed to turn things around in the second half and claimed three full points. But the possible ban for Vini Jr will remain a worry for the next few matches.
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