Once again, Real Madrid managed to defeat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 2-1 (5-1 on aggregate). Following the victory at the Bernabéu thanks to Fede Valverde’s hat-trick, Vinicius Jr. was the hero of the Champions League Round of 16 second leg after scoring both goals in the win at the Etihad Stadium.
However, after the match, the Brazilian star stepped out of the spotlight and heaped praise on his teammate, Kylian Mbappé.
Vini hails Mbappé as ‘the best player in the world’
After perfectly converting his penalty kick in the 22nd minute of the match and scoring in the 90+3rd minute off a pass from Aurelien Tchouameni, Vini sealed Real Madrid’s spot in the Champions League quarterfinals. Erling Haaland scored a consolation goal for City.
This victory came on top of the fact that Vini played his 80th Champions League match at just 25 years and 248 days old, becoming the youngest player to reach that milestone in the competition’s history, surpassing the record previously held by Mbappé.
The Frenchman returned to play a few minutes after suffering a knee sprain that kept him off the field and caused him to miss the last five matches. When Vinicius was asked about ‘Kiki’s’ return, he was clear in his response, stating:
Kylian Mbappé is the best player in the world.
Mbappé has established himself as a key player at Real Madrid. During the 2025/26 season, he has scored 38 goals across all competitions, including his 13 goals in the Champions League, which make him the top scorer in the European competition this season.
His relationship and chemistry on the field with Vini is evident in every play, in the way they support each other in front of the media, and in their efforts to achieve common goals.
In addition, the match MVP described how they prepared for this game: “We’ve had good matches since the start of the season, but we hadn’t been in control as much as we were in this round. It was a very difficult match against a great team and a great coach. They had a lot of possession, but we knew we had to work hard and take advantage of our opportunities, even though I missed a few,” explained Vini.
Meanwhile, as they await their opponent, the quarterfinals of the 2025-26 Champions League will take place on April 7/8 and 14/15, the semifinals will be on April 28/29 and May 5/6, while the Final will be held on May 30.
Real Madrid’s upcoming games
- Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid | March 22
- Mallorca vs Real Madrid | April 4
- Real Madrid vs (Opponent to be determined) | April 7 | Champions League, First leg
- Real Madrid vs Girona April 12
- (Rival to be confirmed) vs Real Madrid | April 14 | Champions League, second leg
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