Vinicius Jr was at the centre of attention again on Wednesday night, and not just because of the starring role he played in Real Madrid's rout of Barcelona.
12 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona and having already lost out to their fierce rivals in the Spanish Supercopa, Real Madrid's season was beginning to fizzle out.
Things got worse when Los Blancos lost the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie against Barca last month, with few expecting them to overcome a 1-0 deficit away from home.
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That's exactly what Carlo Ancelotti's side did though, scoring four goals without reply to stun the Camp Nou crowd and book a place in next month's final against Osasuna.
Vinicius opened the scoring just before half-time when he finished off a swift Real Madrid counter-attack, and in the second half he set up Karim Benzema for the striker's hat-trick-clinching goal.
Now, what with being humiliated on home soil by their hated rivals, Barca players and fans weren't best pleased.
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The players were irritable and the atmosphere inside Camp Nou went completely flat. Vinicius, who has a bit of a reputation for rubbing opponents the wrong way, took full advantage.
Late in the match the Brazilian was involved in a scuffle, and having already been booked, his teammates were quick on the scene to drag him away and save him from a second yellow and a suspension for the final.
As this happened Barcelona attacker Ferran Torres said something to Vinicius, and television cameras caught the 22-year-old replying: “Shut up, you’re terrible."
It's fair to say Ferran wasn't best pleased, but there was no coming back for the former Manchester City man.
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As have plenty of opponents and pundits this season, Barca defender Ronald Araujo had his say on Vinicius after the match.
"He needs to focus on playing football," the Uruguayan said.
"He is a great player, but my head got a little hot tonight because he kept telling our players this and that throughout the match."
The Barcelona players can complain all they like, but Vinicius won't care. After the match he posted to Instagram a number of photos of he and his teammates celebrating, with the caption: "Comeback & Final = REAL MADRID."
Featured Image Credit: PA/AlamyTopics: Vinicius Jr, Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid, Barcelona, La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Carlo Ancelotti, Xavi, El Clasico, Ferran Torres
