Real Madrid star to use Barcelona ‘reference’ for Man City clash | OneFootball

An insight into the mindset of Real Madrid star Vinícius Jr. heading into the club’s impending showdown with Manchester City has been provided.

The info comes courtesy of Marca, and points towards Vinícius being fully aware of the stakes in play later this evening.

Carlo Ancelotti’s troops, of course, are primed to face off with Pep Guardiola’s Man City once more on Wednesday night, in the 2nd leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie between the clubs.

The matchup currently sits on a knife-edge, after a pulsating 3-3 stalemate in Spain’s capital last week.

The aforementioned Vinícius, meanwhile, played a pivotal role in as much, laying on assists for both Rodrygo, and Federico Valverde.

And the Brazilian has every intention of making his presence firmly felt at The Etihad, too.

As per the aforementioned Marca, the 23-year-old views the impending clash as something of a career-defining one.

He is aware that being at the very top of his game is likely to prove pivotal to whether or not Real Madrid can get the better of City, just a year on from being subjected to a 4-0 drubbing by the Sky Blues in Manchester.

Vinícius therefore intends to use a headline fixture from last season as a ‘reference’ for his endeavours on Wednesday.

After falling to a 1-0 defeat in the opening leg of a Copa del Rey semi-final tie with arch rivals Barcelona in April of 2023, Los Blancos absolutely blew the Blaugrana out of the water at the Camp Nou.

Vinícius, for his part, set the scoring in motion in the clash, amid a scintillating individual display when it mattered most.

‘He knows that if he repeats what he did (against Barca), Real Madrid would have a lot to gain (versus City).’

Conor Laird | GSFN