"He is a leader for us" - Real Madrid star heaps praise on Vinicius Jr after his showing in win over Osasuna
Jude Bellingham praised his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr following their 4-0 La Liga win over Osasuna on November 9. Both Los Blancos stars had goal contributions in the clash at the Santiago Bernabéu.
While Vinicius Jr netted a hat-trick, Jude Bellingham scored his first goal of the season in Madrid's 12th La Liga fixture.
Real Madrid opened the scoring through Vinicius Jr's right-footed strike after being set up by Jude Bellingham in the 34th minute. The 21-year-old English midfielder doubled the score following an assist by Raúl Asencio in the 42nd minute.
Vinicius Jr completed his brace in the 61st minute after being sent through on goal by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin. The 24-year-old netted his third goal of the match through an assist by Brahim Diaz just eight minutes later.
Following Los Blancos' victory against Osasuna, Jude Bellingham heaped praise on Vinicius Jr and appreciated the star forward's leadership qualities. The Englishman said (via GOAL):
"I am proud of him for how he behaves on the field, he is a leader for us and we look to him for inspiration and when he plays like that he is unstoppable."
Vinicius Jr has already recorded 12 goals and seven assists in 17 appearances across competitions for Los Blancos this season.
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr have shared the pitch in 42 matches for Real Madrid and have 10 joint goal participations.
Real Madrid boss on Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr after 4-0 win against Osasuna in La Liga
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti heaped praise on Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr following their La Liga victory over Osasuna. Along with the hat-trick, the Brazilian took 71 touches and made two key passes while maintaining a pass accuracy of 82%.
In the post-match conference, the Italian manager spoke about how not winning the Ballon d'Or has not hindered Vinicius' performance on the pitch. Ancelotti said (via Madrid Universal):
“For us, Vinicius is a player who makes a difference. He has done it again today just like other times. The Golden Ball gala is a small detail that has not affected him. Many times they come to the bench to celebrate. Vinicius is a player who scores and will continue to make a difference. He is a very important player for us."
When asked to opine on Bellingham's display, Carlo Ancelotti said:
"Bellingham? The goal is a small part of a game that he played very well defensively and offensively. The goal was a reward."
Speaking about his overall assessment of his squad's performance against Osasuna, Ancelotti added:
"The great thing about this team is that they’re not just players but also die-hard fans of Real Madrid. The game has been good. We started controlling it well, without too much hurry and when we opened the score with Vinicius the game went well."
Real Madrid maintained 68% possession against Osasuna, creating four big chances, and managing eight shots on target.