Vinícius arrived at the Metropolitan as always. With his headphones on and staging a shy dance. He had already warned about him on social networks. “Weeks ago they began to criminalize my dances. They are dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. Accept it, respect it. I am not going to stop”, he said and wrote. While the Brazilian entered the Metropolitan, the tension began to be felt on the outskirts of the stadium when a group of mattress ultras hummed an unfortunate chant with a racist tone. “You are a monkey, Vinícius you are a monkey”. Atlético de Madrid reacted quickly through their social networks with a message condemning what happened. "He encourages Atleti with passion and with respect for the rival," they claimed. On the green the tension persisted. Every time Vinícius touched the ball, the Metropolitan dedicated a loud whistle to him.
Although he tried, the Brazilian failed to score a goal but he did go looking for Rodrygo when he drilled into Oblak's goal. In the celebration, made with great impetus, both Brazilian soccer players performed a dance receiving several insults from the stands. The stadium public address was forced to ask that objects not be thrown on the pitch. “It is a pleasure to play with Vinícius, he is always there. It was important to win after what happened this week”, said Rodrygo. When Valverde scored, Vinícius didn't dance but he did go quickly to hug his teammate. In a somewhat more discreet second part football-wise, the stands took it up with him again after a somewhat excessive caper by the Brazilian.
The controversy generated around the Brazilian monopolized all the media focus also during the previous game. “What we have to do is make sure that Vinícius doesn't score a goal against us”, said Atlético's president, Enrique Cerezo, before the traditional board meal. “If you want to celebrate goals, do it correctly and with respect towards people when it is not your field”, added Cerezo, since Vinícius is also being the protagonist due to the debate about his alleged disrespect towards his rivals such as the that the Mallorca players denounced. Apart from the controversy, Real Madrid goes to the national team break keeping the lead. “We have talked a lot this week about the absence of Benzema, someone fundamental. It was Rodrygo's turn to take his place and he has complied, ”said Carvajal.
