Madrid, January 26 (BNA): Vinicius Junior’s day began with him apparently being the target of a hate crime. It ended with the Brazilian striker scoring a goal to help Real Madrid secure a place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Vinicius scored late in extra time to seal a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals on Thursday, reports the Associated Press.
Vinicius put the finishing touches in an intense back-and-forth match. And after the match ended 1-1 in the league regulation, Karim Benzema had put Real Madrid ahead in the first half of extra time with his seventh goal in seven matches since the World Cup.
The atmosphere was calm among the fans inside the Santiago Bernabéu, and hundreds of early match-ticketed Atletico supporters celebrated as Alvaro Morata put their side ahead in the first half.
But substitute Rodrygo equalized for the hosts at the end of the second half to force the hosts into extra time. Atlético played most of the extra time with ten men after defender Stefan Savic was sent off with a second yellow card, with the tie still 1-1.
Atlético was trying to beat Real Madrid away from home for the first time since 2016. Real Madrid are back in the Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2018-19, having last won the competition in 2013-14. He was eliminated by Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals last season.
Atletico were trying to reach the last four for the first time since 2016-17. The last cup title was won in 2012-13 in a final match against Madrid.
The cup was the only title Atlético had a realistic chance of winning in its season, as it finished fourth in La Liga and was knocked out of the Champions League and Europa League.
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