Xabi Alonso brushed off Vinícius Júnior’s angry reaction to being subbed during Real Madrid’s massive 2-1 win over Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabéu, choosing instead to highlight the positives from a heated El Clásico. He revealed this in his match reaction via sports expert Fabrizio Romano on his official X account.
Fabrixio Posted:
Xabi Alonso on Vini’s reaction to the change: Let me focus on beautiful things, good things. We did great and Vini was a big part of it, he did very well. We will talk about his reaction, for sure we will… we will do it in private. Now I want to focus on good things.
Madrid were sharper on the night, pulling five points clear at the top of LaLiga. Kylian Mbappé was amongst the heroes of the night as he opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, finishing coolly after Jude Bellingham sliced through the Barça defence with a neat pass; this was Mbappé’s 12th goal in just nine games against the Catalans.
Barcelona did respond, though. Fermín López pounced on a sloppy touch from Arda Güler to equalise in the 38th minute. But their joy didn’t last long; five minutes later, Bellingham tapped home from close range after Éder Militão nodded Vinícius’ teasing cross back across the goal.
Vinícius was electric before the change came in the 72nd minute. He’d completed five of six dribbles, drawn fouls, and created chances that kept Barça guessing. When Alonso decided to replace him, though, the Brazilian didn’t take it well; he gestured angrily and walked straight down the tunnel. Assistant coach Sebas Parrilla tried to calm him, while Rodrygo offered a quick word on the bench, but Vini wasn’t having it.
Still, Alonso played down any tension afterwards, insisting the matter would be handled quietly within the dressing room.
Softfootball reports that the win was Madrid’s 12th in 13 games this season, a strong response after their shock 5-2 defeat to Atlético earlier this month. Barça, meanwhile, slumped to their third league loss, once again guilty of wasting too many chances. Mbappé missed a second-half penalty, Szczęsny guessed right, and Pedri saw red late on, sparking a mini scuffle on the sidelines.
All told, it was another fierce night in Madrid, drama, goals, tempers, everything you’d expect from El Clásico.
