Vinícius Júnior expressed that his emotional “crying” gesture, made after netting a goal in Real Madrid’s 2-1 triumph over Manchester City this past Tuesday, served as a direct retort to the “stop crying your heart out” message displayed by City supporters during the previous season.
The prominent attacker found the net two times during the Champions League’s last-16 second-leg encounter, successfully converting a spot-kick in the 22nd minute and subsequently adding another goal in stoppage time, propelling Madrid into the quarterfinals with a dominant 5-1 aggregate score.
During their previous match-up in February of 2025, supporters in Manchester unveiled a large sign depicting midfielder Rodri with the Ballon d’Or trophy, an award he secured over Vinícius.
Having failed to convert a penalty during the initial leg the previous week, Vinicius adeptly deceived goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with his spot-kick on Tuesday, subsequently marking his goal by striking a pose, resting against the corner flag, and then executing an extended ‘crying’ motion using both hands.
“That’s the beauty of football; a fresh chance is always around the corner,” Vinícius communicated to Movistar post-match. “We’ve secured victory on their ground and have advanced to the quarterfinal stage.”
Television cameras additionally captured Vinicius later signaling “4-0” to the spectators at the Etihad Stadium, symbolizing Real Madrid’s combined advantage at that particular moment in the game.
The Brazilian international experienced an eventful evening, seeing another goal ruled out in the second half, concluding the match with a total of seven attempts, three of which were on target, and achieving a personal expected goals (xG) metric of 2.58.
“This fixture holds immense significance for our self-assurance,” Vinícius shared with Movistar. “While we’ve delivered strong performances throughout the season, we haven’t consistently exerted control over matches as effectively as we did in this two-legged contest.”
“Our objectives were crystal clear: exert maximum effort and capitalize on our scoring opportunities, despite me squandering several of them!”
Vinicius mentioned his preference for Federico Valverde to have taken the penalty, especially since the Brazilian himself had failed to convert his own spot-kick at the Bernabéu, a venue where Valverde had previously achieved a hat trick.
“I suggested Fede take it last week, but he declined, and I subsequently failed,” Vinícius recounted. “Even today, I urged him to step up, but he instilled belief in me, acting as the captain, which enabled me to convert the shot and assist the squad.”
Real Madrid’s goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, was withdrawn during the half-time interval and Andriy Lunin took his place; however, manager Álvaro Arbeloa subsequently downplayed concerns regarding his fitness in anticipation of Sunday’s forthcoming LaLiga derby against Atlético Madrid.
“The substitution was purely a preventative measure,” Arbeloa informed Movistar. “He experienced minor unease, and we chose not to jeopardize his condition in any way. I am hopeful he will rejoin us for Sunday’s match.”
