Villarreal 2-3 Real Madrid: Vinicius' superb skill before Ceballos' winner | OneFootball

Real Madrid are through to the quarter-finals of the 2022/23 Copa del Rey.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side will play Atletico Madrid in the last eight, which promises to be a barnstormer at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But for a while on Thursday evening, it looked as if Real Madrid would not be reaching the latter stages of the competition.

The current champions of Spain travelled to Villarreal, which is always a tough assignment for any team.

By the 42nd minute of proceedings at the Estadio de la Cerámica, the difficulty of Real Madrid’s task had increased tenfold.

Los Blancos found themselves 2-0 thanks to an early stunner by Etienne Capoue and a strike from the boot of the mercurial Samuel Chukwueze.

Another crushing defeat beckoned for Real Madrid after their Spanish Super Cup final humbling against fierce rivals Barcelona last weekend.

But then Real Madrid remembered that they are in fact, Real Madrid.

The 14-time European Cup winners produced a scintillating second half performance to rescue the game and ultimately secure a 3-2 victory.

Vinicius Junior got the ball rolling for Los Blancos in the 57th minute, before Eder Militao levelled things at 2-2 in the 69th.

And the winner was scored by Dani Ceballos, whose introduction on 56 minutes as Toni Kroos’ replacement galvanised Real Madrid as a unit.

It was a top-quality finish by the former Arsenal man and in the build-up, Vinicius produced some magic of his own.

The lightning-quick winger left poor ol’ Alex Baena in a crumpled heap on the turf with some silky footwork, before continuing his drive towards goal.

Vinicius’ pass after his dominant display versus Baena wasn’t actually the best, but Real Madrid still scored seconds later.

So who cares, eh?

Video: Vinicius’ skill before Ceballos’ winner

Stop that, Vini!

Defending one-on-one against the Brazilian flyer looks like an absolute nightmare, doesn’t it?

Don’t worry, Alex, you’re not the first – nor will you be the last – to be left feeling humiliated by Vinicius.

The former Flamengo man enjoyed a stellar 2021/22 campaign, where he even scored the winner in the 1-0 Champions League final victory over Liverpool.

This season, Vinicius hasn’t quite been at his formidable best, but the numbers he’s produced are still pretty darn good.

In 26 appearances across all competitions, the 22-year-old has bagged 11 goals and contributed six assists.

A future Ballon d’Or winner? Vinicius is certainly in that category.

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Guti Michel Salgado