Vinícius Júnior reaches 100 goals with Real Madrid as club advances in Champions League
MADRID (AP) — Vinícius Júnior reached 100 goals with Real Madrid in the team's 5-1 victory over Salzburg on Wednesday to secure a playoff spot after a slow start in the Champions League.
Vinícius scored his 99th and 100th goals, according to UEFA, moving him into third place in the top Brazilian scorers in the Champions League with 28 goals in the competition. Neymar leads the way with 43, with Kaká second on 30.
Madrid said Vinícius has 101 goals for the club, with Spanish media saying the discrepancy dates back to a Spanish league goal that many considered an own-goal and should not count for the Brazil forward.
“Sometimes it’s pure instinct, sometimes there’s a little more time so I can take a glance and see things which help, like where the goalkeeper is," Vinícius said. "Goals are making me a better player. Early on here (at Real Madrid), I didn’t score so many, but now I might play the odd bad game but still score twice, and that’s a good habit to have.”
Madrid, the defending champion and record 15-time European champion, had lost three of its first six matches in the new format of the Champions League and was at risk of elimination.
“I truly think that tonight we produced pretty much the complete performance, because we also turned it on in the first half," said Vinícius, who was named the man of the match. "But we really need to keep seeking our absolute best form so that we can keep on scoring goals and defending better as a team.”
The victory moved Madrid to 16th place in the 36-team league phase of the competition.
“We have some things to fix but we have good momentum,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “The goal tonight was to win and play well. We started a bit soft but were able to improve.”
Rodrygo also scored twice for Madrid, and Kylian Mbappé added another goal after a blunder by Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich.
Rodrygo has scored five goals in his last four matches, while Vinícius has three in his last two games. Mbappé also has five goals in his last four matches.
Jude Bellingham set up one of Vinícius' goals with a neat back-heel flick. The England player left the match in the 64th minute with a back issue but Ancelotti downplayed the injury.
Madrid next visits French club Brest.
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