Champions League: Real Madrid revel in the extraordinariness of Vinicius Jr

With second-half hattrick, the Brazilian forward has been Real Madrid’s go-to player for goals this season

Kolkata: When Jude Bellingham dispossessed Emre Can and found Vinicius Jr, the clock was touching 86 minutes. Most of the 9.1km Vinicius Jr was recorded to have covered had been covered but with Borussia Dortmund struggling to get back, he saw a chance. So, like Forrest Gump, he ran.

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring a hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund in Madrid on Tuesday. (AFP)

Can is not known for speed but this was happening 10 minutes after he had come on. The experienced German defender dropped off to let Niklas Süle take up the challenge of stalling Vinicius Jr in full flight. When the Brazilian had buttressed another dramatic Real Madrid comeback with their fourth goal of the night and his second, Süle was on the floor and Can on his haunches.

The hattrick was completed in stoppage time when with a weaving run, Vinicius Jr had Waldemar Anton and Pascal Gross in a bind, the two defensive substitutions Dortmund had made to prevent exactly this sort of a thing. Having gone from 0-2 to 2-2 nearly as fast as France had in the 2022 World Cup final, Real Madrid were now winning this contest between the 2023-24 Champions League finalists 5-2. Only one team had done that in Champions League history. Real Madrid.

The difference between Doha and Madrid was that Vinicius Jr and not Kylian Mbappe was running the show, two assists from the French star notwithstanding. Emilio Butragueno, the Real legend and former Spain forward, has said the third goal from Vinicius Jr reminded him of Pele. Even Real manager Carlo Ancelotti, the epitome of sangfroid when Lucas Vasquez put Real ahead, was visibly moved.

Hattrick completed, Vinicius Jr danced. Just like he had said he would in the World Cup. His celebrations are said to provoke people – there have been over 20 incidents of racist abuse against him in La Liga alone over the past three years. But it was as much an act of defiance. A statement against racial abuse. “He is a player who gets whistled because he can make a difference,” said Ancelotti.

As Vinicius Jr went hippy-hippy shake, the closed-roof Bernabeu exploded in celebration. The Ballon d’Or is due on Monday and this stadium had no doubt who the recipient should be.

“It’s rare to see a player who plays a second half like Vinicius did. And not because of the three goals but because of his character; he’s extraordinary,” said Ancelotti.

His extraordinariness had shown when Vinicius Jr picked Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pocket in the 2022 final. And when he got Real’s insurance goal to regain the Champions League this year. Not all colts become thoroughbreds and when Karim Benzema was overheard telling Ferland Mendy to not pass to him, it seemed Vinicius Jr might have lost his way. That was in 2020-21 but does not feel very recent so good he has been since at Real.

With 15 goals contributions in 14 matches in all competitions this term, he is Real’s go-to player for goals. Early indication of how involved he would be came when a line-breaking pass from Eder Militao reached him. The ball which Bellingham came close to getting his first goal of the season came from Vinicius Jr. When Julian Brandt denied him with a superbly timed slide, Real were trailing through first-half goals from Donyell Malen and Jamie Bynoe-Gitten. When Vinicius Jr tracked back to deny Brandt, it was 2-2 with Real on the rise.

“If we score the first goal, we are going back again,” he said. PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool will not forget what Real have done to them. Now, Dortmund never will.

Especially after how they had begun. Malen scored after Serhou Guirassy found him with a velvety pass. By staying back when Real expected him to run, Guirassy helped Bynoe-Gittens make it 2-0. Television cameras showed Militao banging his fist on the pitch, Rudiger trying to bury his head in it and, in his 431st Champions League match, Luka Modric looking worried.

Dortmund had exposed Real’s defensive frailties and Ancelotti said his team was timid in the first half. After Rodrygo and Bellingham hit the horizontal, Dortmund replied with Brandt testing Thibaut Courtois. Dortmund could still have nicked it but they were playing a team that has got points from 11 of the last 18 matches they had trailed in Europe. Hope came through Rudiger’s header, it grew when Vinicius Jr levelled the tie and even before Vasquez scored, the script had started to feel familiar.