Vinicius Jr. has equalled Lionel Messi in one valuable, elite statistic as pointed out by OK Diario.
Real Madrid ace Vinicius Jr. has equalled FC Barcelona great Lionel Messi in one highly-respected statistic in the elite, as pointed out by OK Diario.
The Brazilian didn’t have his best game in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Manchester City at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
Yet still, having an off day for him is still coming up with two assists in a 3-3 draw against the competition’s reigning kings.
The goals were worth their weight in gold too. First Vinicius found compatriot and strike partner Rodrygo to make it 2-1 after the hosts had fallen 1-0 behind to a clever Bernardo Silva free kick that caught goalkeeper Andriy Lunin off guard.
Then in the second half, when wonderstrikes from the edge of the box from Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol into the top corner left Lunin with no chance, ‘Vini’ found Fede Valverde who smashed home the equalizer 11 minutes from time.
The thrilling stalemate was well received by football fans worldwide and set up another potential burnbarner in Manchester a week from now that will decide who plays against Bayern Munich or Arsenal in the last four for a chance to make the Wembley final.
In the process, Vinicius guaranteed that he “already sits at Leo Messi’s table in the decisive matches of the Champions League” as the Spanish media wrote.
That is because with his pair of assists against Pep Guardiola’s men, he improved his tally in this respect to 12 when it comes to the elite tournaments knockout phases.
This tied him with the Argentine most commonly associated with Madrid’s eternal enemies FC Barcelona, but Vini has impressively achieved it aged 23 while having played 52 games less.
The winger still has some way to go to match or even surpass his idol Cristiano Ronaldo on 17 knockout phase assists, yet with both generational greats now plying their trades in the United States and Saudi Arabia in the twilight of their careers, while Vini is just getting started, he is a prime candidate to top the list one day.
Vinicius now has 20 assists overall in Champions League history, with Ronaldo again top of the pack on 42 as Messi trails on 40.
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