The good, the bad, and the ugly: Real Madrid star shows his three faces in the match against RB Salzburg | OneFootball

Real Madrid boosted their chances of making it to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, albeit after playing a playoff game, last night with their most convincing performance in the competition this season.

The Merengues emerged victorious with a 5-1 scoreline in this game, with the visitors getting their only goal in the last phase of the game when the hosts were already ahead with five goals.

All the three forwards in the white shirt got on the scoresheet, as Rodrygo Goes opened the scoring in the 23rd minute and then added another to his name ten minutes later. Kylian Mbappe scored another goal right after the teams made their return to the pitch following the half-time break.

In the 55th minute, Vinicius Junior also got on the scoresheet as he beat several defenders inside the Salzburg box before taking a shot that ended up in the bottom right corner of the net. Then, 13 minutes before the 90-minute mark, he scored another goal after receiving a pass from Valverde, beating a defender with a slick move, and then finishing the move with a low shot.

Thus, he was once again decisive for Real Madrid and also got the Man of the Match award for this game. However, beyond these two goals, there were several aspects to his game that left a lot to be desired.

Before scoring this brace in the second half, he could have gotten on the scoresheet in the first half, but he missed a good chance as his shot went over the bar.

Similarly, he was not the most efficient with the ball, as Sofascore statistics show that he completed only 20 of his 27 attempted passes on the night, thus recording a 74% passing success rate. Furthermore, 1 of his only 2 attempted long balls were accurate. The Brazilian, who is naturally a very good dribbler, also had only 3 successful dribbles out of 8 attempts last night.

Overall, he lost possession 16 times in this match and was also not the most effective in duels as he won only 6 of his 15 duels.

Thus, this was a rather mixed night for the Real Madrid star. But there was also an element of ugliness involved, as he made 4 fouls and also got a yellow card for diving. This yellow card means he is suspended for the last UCL League Phase against Brest, which can be pivotal for the Merengues in their bid to gain a top-eight finish in the table.

This, coupled with the suspension that he is already serving in La Liga, means he will not be able to feature for his side again this month. There is no doubt that this will be a significant loss for Carlo Ancelotti, one which could have easily been avoided with more composure and calmness on Vinicius’ part.