Barcelona icon defends Vinicius Junior amid Xabi Alonso dispute | OneFootball

Real Madrid may have won El Clasico, but in the days since, there has been a lot of focus on one particular negative issue: Vinicius Junior’s reaction to being substituted in the second half at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Vinicius has since issued an apology over the matter, but interestingly, it was not directed at Alonso – rather, the fans. On the matter, Barcelona and Brazil icon Rivaldo has had his say, and he has come to the defence of his compatriot in his alleged rift with the Real Madrid manager, as per Sport.

“Vinicius Junior’s reaction was not correct, because he said some bad things, and that looks ugly. But you can understand his anger: he was playing well, he was the protagonist, he participated in the second goal, and he kept the ball up well. I think he was irritated, not only because of the substitution itself, but because it has already happened to him in other games, he has already been on the bench.

“Honestly, a player like Vinicius, who is worth so much to Real Madrid and is the club’s heritage, cannot spend seven games being substituted. And even less so in a classic that was winning by the minimum, that Barcelona could draw and that he could finish deciding.”

Image via Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Rivaldo: “I didn’t like Barcelona’s performance in El Clasico”

Rivaldo also had his say on Barcelona’s underwhelming performance at the Bernabeu. He felt that Hansi Flick’s side were nowhere near their best against Real Madrid.

“As always, there were controversies in plays in favour of Real Madrid. Even so, I didn’t see a great Barcelona, as on other occasions. The team feels a lot about the lack of players like Raphinha or Lewandowski. But this time they only played well at times. I didn’t like Barcelona’s performance.”