Vini Jr surpasses Neymar as top Brazilian in Champions League knockouts | OneFootball

Ex-Flamengo, Vinicius Júnior now has 14 goals in Champions League knockout stages

Real Madrid (ESP) defeated Benfica (POR) 2-1 this Wednesday (25) and advanced to the Champions League round of 16. Vinicius Júnior, former player of Flamengo, scored the winning goal and became the Brazilian with the most goals in the tournament's knockout stages.

Now, Vinicius Júnior has scored 14 goals in Champions League knockout stage matches. With this, the former Flamengo forward surpassed Neymar and Kaká, who have 13 and 11, respectively. The information comes from the ‘DataFut’ profile.

Vinicius Júnior has been with Real Madrid since 2018. The former Flamengo player needed eight seasons to reach the mark of 14 goals in Champions League knockout stages. He even scored in both matches against Benfica in the playoffs.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION OF VINI JR'S 'RIVALS'?

Kaká arrived in European football in 2003 when he was signed by Milan (ITA) from São Paulo. Additionally, he stayed in the ‘Old Continent’ until 2014, playing for Real Madrid before returning to the Italian club. In other words, he played 11 seasons in Europe.

On the other hand, Neymar joined Barcelona (ESP) in 2013, signed from Santos. The Brazilian national team forward stayed at the club until 2017, when he moved to PSG (FRA), where he remained until 2023. Therefore, he spent ten seasons in Europe.

WHAT IS VINI JR'S SITUATION?

Vinicius Júnior has 14 goals in Champions League knockout stages, two of which were in tournament finals. The first was against Liverpool (ENG). Then, against Borussia Dortmund (GER), when Real Madrid won the competition.

AND FLAMENGO?

Flamengo, Vinicius Júnior's former club, remains focused on the upcoming commitments of the 2026 season. Thus, the red-black team faces Lanús (ARG) this Thursday (26), for the second match of the Recopa Sudamericana, at Maracanã, at 9:30 PM (Brasília time).

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