Vinicius Jr has the key to shape semi-final - even if Man City dominate the ball
Real Madrid’s goalscorer from the first leg will be his team’s primary threat and tactical ploy at the Etihad Stadium
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In Manchester City’s preparation for Wednesday, Pep Guardiola has been telling his players where they should specifically stand when it comes to Vinicius Junior. In some cases, especially with Kyle Walker, it is down to half-metres. That is saying something given that Vinicius is a player who can consume 80 metres in a matter of seconds. That half-metre becomes fully irrelevant in one blinding move. Walker himself knows it too well, given how he spoke about how Vinicius tried to “rainbow-flick” him in the first leg.
“Please don’t try that again,” the full-back told Vinicius after the game as they hugged. “I don’t want to be a meme.”
The Brazilian has already reduced City to that before. What happened in this very fixture last season could well sum up a lot about the recent Champions League, and that was even before you got to Real Madrid’s second-leg comeback. There was Vinicius turning on a ball before anyone else at the City stadium even realised it was happening, least of all Fernandinho, who was left nutmegged as he tried to adjust to the moment as well as adjust to another of Guardiola’s surprising tactical decisions in Europe. The City manager was next witnessed crumpling to a heap in the ground, his hands to his head. It was exactly what Guardiola had warned his team about and yet exactly what had happened, while also showcasing in an instant just how intensely he feels all this.
Guardiola only felt anguish, as Vinicius just sliced through the City half to then slot the most composed of finishes.
That goal to make it 3-2 was not just one of a few juncture moments in that tie, though. It was a juncture moment in Vinicius’ career. Many around the Madrid squad feel it was a goal that put him onto another level, that showed he was so much more than “just pace”, as some had derided.
This was a star in full control of the devastating energy he is able to release. The match-winning goal in the Champions League final against Liverpool only fortified this. The jaw-dropping strike against City last week only completed the evolution.
The nature of the strike was a show of power, to go with the pace. It was a player fully attuned to everything he can do. It was also the most decisive player in this semi-final.
This is not necessarily to say that Vinicius is superior to either Erling Haaland or Kevin De Bruyne, although there is now a fair argument as regards both. Walker described the Brazilian as “one of the best players in the world” and “in the best form of his life”. Vinicius himself is intent on rising to that status.
It is more that Vinicius' very form means he exerts the greatest gravitational force on this match.
The ball might mostly go with City, sure, but the shape of the game will go with Vinicius. This is because we know that the vast majority of play will be Guardiola’s side dominating possession within 30 metres of Madrid’s goal. Carlo Ancelotti will again be content to cede that, since he knows that one Vinicius run will force the entire game 80 metres up the pitch in seconds. That will happen repeatedly. The heat map of the match will essentially be a round glow around the Madrid box, but with a series of spikes that force everyone up.
That’s what Guardiola is so conscious of. It is all the more pronounced since space on the wing is City’s primary weakness, the area where they have looked vulnerable all season.
Vinicius brings so many strands together in one stride. It is little wonder Walker compared it to preparing for Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup.
“We have to show him a level of respect,” the wing-back said. “Like Mbappe, you have to give him the respect they deserve but you are not going to say go on, walk through and score.”
Vinicius knows that. It is why he has developed this array of moves to eviscerate opposition players, from going around them to flicking the ball over them, which has made a Vinicius rampage one of the most awesome sights in football right now.
That’s just another way he’s like Mbappe, including the ambition to be the best in the world. Some long-timers at Madrid go even further. They say he combines many of the best attributes of both Ronaldos. There’s the devastating pace of the two, as well as the electric dribbling of his Brazilian predecessor. There’s then the ultra-discipline of Cristiano, especially as regards physical conditioning. Vinicius went straight from Tuesday’s first leg to a physio session, as he does with every single night game. Aware of how fast players can face issues after a few years of a top-level career due to the effect on muscles, he wants to leave nothing to chance. The same applies to his diet, which is extremely strict, and prepared by a full-time chef.
“I want to be the best,” the 22-year-old has said. “Not the second best.”
He sometimes says even more arrogant things on the pitch, although only to get under the skin of opponents further. Walker referred to his "trash-talking" and how City have to ignore it.
Vinicius sees it as all part of the game. He is maybe the key element of this game. His pace certainly shapes it.
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