Vinicius Jr. has slammed La Liga in a social media post over an unpunished incident in yesterday’s 4-2 loss to Girona.
Pep Guardiola would have had an eye on Catalonia on Tuesday when Girona thrashed Real Madrid 4-2 in La Liga. Girona is another club owned by City Football Group, which also owns Manchester City.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team traveled to Catalonia with the hopes of saving any chances of keeping the Spanish league title, which now looks to be headed back to Barcelona. And, with a Champions League semi-final against Manchester City just two weeks away, Real’s recent defeat served as a template for how to overcome Los Blancos.
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The hosts’ four goals were all scored by Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos. The 24-year-old Argentine is on loan from New York City FC, another City Football Group team, and is making a great impression in Spain.
Ancelotti’s team ran into trouble at the Estadi Municipal de Montlivi, where Vinicius reduced the deficit shortly before halftime, only for Real to lose the second half by the same scoreline. The Brazil winger also set up Lucas Vazquez’s consolation goal five minutes from full time, raising his record in his past seven games to three goals and six assists.
Why did Vinicius Jr. slam La Liga?
In the 36th minute, Girona defender Santiago Bueno violently booted the ball off him as he was on the floor near the sideline, frustrating the winger. He saw it as a deliberate, unsportsmanlike behavior, and his subsequent complaints resulted in a yellow card, leaving Bueno unpunished.
Vinicius then replied ‘La Liga’ to a Twitter post about the whole incident. The Brazilian is the most fouled player in La Liga but still has 9 yellow cards.
Vinicius Jr. has posted his reaction to the yellow card he received vs. Girona. pic.twitter.com/gota722qcZ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 26, 2023
Vinicius Jr. has been a vocal critic of La Liga over the last two seasons, citing a lack of protection against racist insults from opposing supporters and violent fouls from other players.
Stopping the Citizens in their present form will be no easy task, though, as Guardiola’s men have gone undefeated in their past 16 games and have just pushed Bayern Munich out of the Round of 16. Erling Haaland has been extremely dangerous of late, with 16 goals and two assists in his previous ten games, including seven goals in his last three Champions League appearances.
This speaks ill for a Real Madrid defense that has just given in four goals against a mid-table La Liga team, while City can yet win the European and domestic trebles. Manchester City will surely ask their sister club Girona how to beat Real in their upcoming semi-final clashes.
Real Madrid will now host Almeria on Saturday while Manchester City face Arsenal tomorrow. They will both compete for a place in the UCL final with the first leg at the Bernabeu on May 10.
