Vinicius Junior had to be physically restrained in the tunnel as Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Mallorca ended in a brawl on Thursday.
The Brazil international has been involved in a long-running war of words with Mallorca right-back Pablo Maffeo, who previously joked that he would knock out Vinicius “in ten seconds” if the two ever clashed on the pitch.
Tensions between the two players boiled over just minutes into Thursday’s game. Maffeo pushed Vinicius, who responded with a slap on the Mallorca defender’s chest, causing him to fall theatrically to the ground.
Vinicius was caught on camera calling Maffeo “terrible” as he vowed to kick Mallorca out of the competition, before the Madrid forward was booked for as many as five fouls on Maffeo.
Jude Bellingham opened the scoring for Madrid shortly after the hour mark. Vinicius was withdrawn with two minutes to go, after which an own goal and a goal by Rodrygo in the 95th minute removed any doubt about the result.
Maffeo’s reaction to the third goal was enough to provoke a reaction from both Bellingham and centre-back Raul Asenci, who ended up at the center of a huge brawl at the end of the game.
Vinicius became involved in the altercation after the final whistle, with footage showing him being physically restrained in the tunnel as he tried to make his way to the Mallorca side.
“We’re not talking about him, it’s what he wants,” Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni said of Maffeo after the game.
The ugly nature of the match’s conclusion disappointed Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti.
“It was an unnecessary fight for both teams,” he told reporters. “It doesn’t make sense.
“It was unnecessary, the game was already over. I don’t blame anyone, neither the Mallorca players nor the Real players. But such a ‘fight’ was unnecessary. The players were a little heated and I tried to calm things down. Well, in the end nothing happened, but that end was not necessary.”
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