Manchester City got the better of Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier this season and Vinicius Junior has explained what his team must do to avoid this happening again.
The Champions League is back this week and Manchester City’s upcoming visit to the Bernabeu is surely the most anticipated tie of the last 16.
This fixture has become a staple in Europe’s biggest competition and the sides have met once already this season.
Man City claimed a 2-1 victory against Real Madrid, thanks to goals from Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland, which cancelled out Rodrygo’s opener.
However, Vincius Jr was on target against Benfica in the play-offs and he is determined to deliver again against Pep Guardiola’s team.
Vinicus Jr sends message to his Real Madrid teammates
Benfica are a decent side, but Man City will provide Real Madrid with a different level of difficulty to overcome.
It is for this reason that Vinicius Jr has called on his team to be ‘perfect’ and fight for every single ball against Manchester City.
He said: “We want to attack, we want to dominate, we want see the great Real Madrid version, the team that fights for every ball. Against Man City, we must be perfect”.
“We ask the fans to do what they always do, push us, making the Bernabéu a very difficult place for them.”
“Together with them, we become much stronger”.
Man City will not be short on belief against Real Madrid
Once upon a team, Real Madrid were a team to be feared and they showed this with a number of victories over Man City.
Despite this, things have changed over the years and Los Blancos are certainly not the favourites to be lifting the Champions League trophy in Budapest.
Vinicius’ message to his teammates is powerful, but Pep Guardiola will have a team talk of his own as he eyes progression to the quarter-finals of the competition.
