Mueez Ajao
– Thibaut Courtois said Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior needs more protection after the forward was the victim of a wild tackle from Valencia’s Gabriel Paulista in their 2-0 LaLiga win on Thursday.
– Defender Gabriel was shown a straight red card for the challenge, which came in the 72nd minute at the Santiago Bernabeu with Valencia already 2-0 down to goals from Marco Asensio and Vinicius.
– Madrid’s victory leaves them five points behind leaders Barcelona at the top of the table.
Also Read: Madrid cruise past Valencia to close gap on Barca
– “We have to protect Vini,” Courtois said, speaking post-match. “He’s very expressive on the pitch, he takes players on and defenders don’t like that.”
– “It’s his technique, his way of playing,” Courtois added. “We need this Vinicius to open up defences, I think he’s been kicked a lot and today I’m glad that a referee was brave enough to send [Gabriel] off. The ball had gone, that has to be a sending off.”
– Vinicius’ goal was his 50th for Real Madrid, in his 200th competitive game for the club.
– “His physical level is impressive,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “He’s a player who suffers a lot. In the second half he made more runs without the ball, getting in behind [the defence], that makes the difference.
– “Opponents end the game exhausted. He keeps trying and trying, he doesn’t stop.”
– Ancelotti described Gabriel’s challenge as “a moment of frustration, which can happen sometimes in football.”
– Madrid are now waiting on medical tests on Eder Militao and Karim Benzema, after both players were substituted with injury concerns.
– “[Militao’s] is a bit more serious than Karim’s,” Ancelotti said. “We’ll look at Karim’s tomorrow, but Militao won’t be with us on Sunday [against Real Mallorca] for sure.”
