Xabi Alonso hails Vinicius Junior after Real Madrid win, eyes up the derby | OneFootball

Real Madrid maintained their strong streak by defeating Levante 4-1 at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium on Tuesday (23), during the sixth round of LaLiga. Brazilian Vinicius Junior opened the scoring, Argentine Franco Mastantuono found the net for the first time in the merengue jersey, and Kylian Mbappé scored twice. Xabi Alonso highlighted the team's performance and praised the number 7.

“We just finished the match, I was only thinking about today's game. Tomorrow we will think about the derby,” said Xabi Alonso in the press conference after the match. Real Madrid will play against Atlético de Madrid next Saturday at the Metropolitano stadium.

“Vini had a decisive and very important performance,” continued the Basque coach, before emphasizing that the team should not “boast” too much about the good results.

Vinicius Junior was not satisfied after being substituted by Alonso in Saturday's victory over Espanyol, but the Brazilian winger started as a left-wing starter and delivered. In the first 15 minutes, Levante posed a threat with two clear chances from Iván Romero and Adrián de la Fuente, but the team lost momentum as Real Madrid grew stronger.

Vini made it 1-0 at 28 minutes with a shot between two opponents, leaving no chance for Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.

In his eagerness to demonstrate his quality, the Brazilian star, who had been relegated to the bench in previous matches, provided an assist to Mastantuono in a quick counterattack. The Argentine, who had previously hit the crossbar, found the net this time.

At the beginning of the second half, forward Etta Eyong reduced the deficit for Levante.

But the joy of the home team was short-lived. Mbappé converted a penalty with a chip shot ten minutes later, after the Frenchman was brought down in the area by defender Unai Elgezabal. Shortly after, the 2018 World Cup-winning striker scored again, after finding himself alone in front of Ryan and dribbling past him.

With this victory, Real Madrid, under Xabi Alonso, continues their unstoppable start to the season, winning their first six games and maintaining the top spot. On Thursday, Barcelona (2nd) will try to keep up the pace. The Catalan team has 13 points and will face Oviedo at the Carlos Tartiere stadium.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.