Vinicius reacts after equalling Ronaldo’s Real Madrid goal tally in Valencia loss – ‘Special day’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid endured a forgettable evening at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier today as they fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Valencia.

It was a poor display from the reigning champions who now appear to have all but kissed goodbye to their chances of retaining the title, considering the red-hot form that leaders Barcelona are in at the moment.

Vinicius speaks out

Vinicius Jr. was involved in the biggest moments of the game today as he was guilty of missing a penalty in the first period before finding the back of the net after the break to level things for Real Madrid.

Vinicius was jeered and whistled at by the fans at the stadium in the first period but he did manage to find the back of the net soon after restart.

It was his 104th goal for Real Madrid – meaning he is now level with the great Ronaldo Nazario as the highest-ever Brazilian goalscorer for the club.

Scored a goal, missed a penalty. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

Ultimately, though, Hugo Duro’s stoppage-time strike earned a victory for Valencia – their first at the Bernabeu in 17 years.

Speaking after the match, Vinicius acknowledged that it was special for him to equal Ronaldo’s goal tally for Real Madrid but was disappointed that it did not result in a win.

“It’s a special day for me to reach same goals as my idol Ronaldo, he showed me how to do it when I arrived at Real Madrid as a kid,” he said, as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.

“Bad game then, we know we have to improve… but remember, at Real Madrid we never give up,” Vinicius added.

Having been a Ballon d’Or contender last season, Vinicius’ form has simply not been good enough this season. On top of that, he has been guilty of missing penalties on quite a few occasions already.

With La Liga potentially out of their grasp at this point, unless Barcelona slip up, Vinicius and Real Madrid must leave this defeat behind for now and focus on the upcoming UEFA Champions League encounter vs. Arsenal.