Vinicius got hit again: 10 fouls, a whistle and an offer to kiss the Mallorca logo

Real Madrid lost away to Mallorca (0:1) – Barca’s lead grew to 8 points (the Catalans defeated Sevilla in the evening).

This is Madrid’s third defeat in 2023. Ancelotti’s team is moping, largely due to injuries: Benzema and Mendy simply do not play, and Tchouameni and Alaba are just returning and have not yet pulled all 90 minutes. In the pre-match training, Thibaut Courtois also broke down.

Habitual leaders like Modric and Kroos are in terrible shape.

Mallorca understood the state of Madrid. Already in the 13th minute, the starting pressure brought results: after a good serve from the left flank, forward Vedat Muriqui stylishly sent the ball into the far corner. The goal was later rewritten to Nacho.

The hosts sat down at their gates. Throughout the first half, Real Madrid tried to create at least some moment, but in the end they could only offer long-range shots from Marco Asensio. In the second half the situation changed, and in the 57th minute Vinicius earned a penalty. It seemed that Madrid would return to the game and rectify the situation, but Asensio did not outplay keeper Rajkovic.

After that, Real Madrid was completely sad. In the last 20 minutes, Mariano Diaz came out to save, but in the attack it was not possible to come up with something with him either. The result is a well-deserved defeat.

“The match was as we expected: tough, difficult, with a lot of pauses,” Ancelotti summed up. – The first half determined the course of the match, and small details became a decisive factor. We were affected by a missed goal. We couldn’t play with a cool head in the first half.”

Around Vinicius is burning again – he was offered to kiss the emblem of Mallorca

For most of the match, the Real Madrid winger was under the control of two tough defenders, Antonio Raillo and Pablo Maffeo. These two fouled the player so often that in the 44th minute Vini fell on Maffeo and received a yellow card.

However, this did not reassure the Brazilian. Leaving for a break, Junior showed Mallorca fans the Real Madrid emblem on a T-shirt – a response to constant insults and whistling. Marca writes that there were also racist outcries.

After the break, Railho reacted to Vinicius’s gesture. The defender held the Mallorca logo to the winger’s face, offering to kiss him. The shocked Junior simply walked away.

As a result, Vini was fouled 10 times – no Real Madrid player has been fouled so many times in La Liga since 2013. “Maffeo asked to be replaced because he wanted a standing ovation. I know him. He deserves praise,” smirked Mallorca coach Javier Aguirre.

“What happened to Vinicius is not his fault,” Ancelotti defended his player. We need to change focus. The guy just wants to play football. There are rivals who provoke and foul, and this is not the fault of Vinicius himself. This match is a clear example of that.”

Real Madrid are 8 points behind Barcelona

Meanwhile, the championship is slipping away from Madrid – after this round, Barcelona are 8 points clear.

After the game, Barça posted a photo with a smiling Xavi on the social network. However, it is still too early to finally bury Real Madrid: Madrid are in the traditional winter crisis, and almost half of the championship is still ahead. Xavi himself speaks about this – he is waiting for a tense championship race.

Ancelotti is also not going to give up: “A painful defeat, because it greatly affects the situation in La Liga. We will try to fight to the end. There are many matches left and what happened to us today can happen to them too.”

However, next in the Real Madrid schedule is the Club World Cup.