Vinícius Júnior defended his behavior on the field after scoring a hat trick in Real Madrid's 4-1 Clásico victory over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, although he admitted that “I'm no saint.”
The Brazilian striker scored two goals in the first ten minutes to put Madrid ahead in Riyadh, before Robert Lewandowski responded for Barça. Vinícius scored the third from a penalty before half-time, and Rodrygo Goes' fourth secured the victory before Ronald Araújo was sent off.
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However, Vinicius also collided with the Barça bench, and television cameras showed him making a '4-1' gesture towards them, reflecting the score, at the end of the match.
“It makes me sad. Everyone wants to fight me, because they know that in the press they will say 'Vini did this, Vini did that,'” Vinicius said in a post-match press conference, after being named MVP of the final. “I try to stay calm and focus on doing my best. It's not just about me.
“Of course I'm no saint,” he added. “Sometimes I talk too much, sometimes I dribble when I shouldn't. But I'm here to improve and to be a role model for the kids. I want to improve.”
Vinicius celebrated his first goal by imitating Cristiano Ronaldo's typical goal celebration, while the Super Cup was being played at Al-Awwal Park, home of Ronaldo's Al-Nassr.
“The celebration was for Cris,” Vinicius said. “He is my idol and now he plays here… I am very happy with what we have done today. Beating Barcelona is not easy and winning 4-1 is difficult. It was an almost perfect match.”
Madrid president Florentino Pérez praised Vinicius' performance and joked that he asks the forward to score more often.
“Vinicius almost always shines,” Pérez said. “Scoring three goals is not normal but today he deserved it. He always does it. The effort he makes in every game is phenomenal, giving assists and scoring goals, that's why he is one of the best in the world.”
Perez praised coach Ancelotti, who recently extended his contract at the club – saying “Real Madrid and Ancelotti fit perfectly” – and refused to discuss links with a move for Kylian Mbappe.
“It's really not the day to talk about it,” Perez said. “It is the day to congratulate the players we have, not those of other teams. We have scored nine goals in two games… The Real Madrid fans are focused on these players, for sure, look how happy they are.”
In the Super Cup final, Ancelotti surpassed Zinedine Zidane in games managed as Madrid coach, with 264, and tied with him on 11 trophies won at the club.
“[Vinicius] He played very well,” Ancelotti said. “He needed two or three games to get back to his best level, but he's back… Sometimes it's been difficult for him. [in Clásicos], because Ronald Araujo is a world-class defender. Today he looked for spaces inside, not always outside, and that allowed him to score.”
