In the Zone: How Vinícius Júnior led Real Madrid's conquest of space
mercredi 18 mars 2026
Résumé de l'article
UEFA Technical Observer Ange Postecoglou casts an admiring eye at Real Madrid's No7 following the Spanish side's UEFA Champions League round of 16 success at Manchester City.
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Vinícius Júnior was the difference-maker as Real Madrid advanced to their sixth successive UEFA Champions League quarter-final last night.
Madrid's No7 scored both goals in the 2-1 victory at Manchester City and, moreover, was integral in how they attacked the space behind City's back line. "He was always a threat with his runs in behind," said UEFA Technical Observer Ange Postecoglou and that factor is the focus of the following analysis, brought to you by FedEx.
According to Postecoglou, the visitors' three-goal first-leg lead made this a cat-and-mouse contest with "City trying to be the protagonist and Real being prepared to just wait for their moment, with Vinícius always their outlet. It meant City had to be really precise in everything they did because with any lapse of concentration or technical error, the threat going the other way was enormous."
Attacking the space behind
Runs in behind have been a feature of Madrid’s progress in this competition and as the video shows, they were crucial once more in Manchester as City started aggressively, squeezing high up the pitch and creating chances. With that, though, came a risk.
"There was an arm wrestle in the first 18 minutes [prior to the red card and penalty] of contrasting styles," explained Postecoglou who saw Federico Valverde's early chance in clip one as "an insight into what they [Madrid] were looking for as a team". He continued: "It's obviously something that they were aware of, in terms of making runs from deep. Vinícius gets the ball and Valverde goes before he's even had a look up."
Vinícius Júnior himself makes the run in clip two and Postecoglou observed: "His directness when breaking the defensive lines makes him a constant threat – his first touch and arc of run invariably mean he takes the shortest route to goal." He also praised the Brazilian’s alertness in getting into position for the follow-up shot which leads to the penalty he converted.
The Player of the Match himself gave the following verdict, saying that "[City] had the ball for a lot of the time but we knew what we had to do – work hard and take advantage of the opportunities". With an individual xG of 2.77, he had more opportunities than anyone and with the two he took, Madrid march on.
Having established his coaching reputation in Australia, Greece-born Ange Postecoglou took his attacking style of play to Europe, winning a domestic double and then a domestic treble in two seasons at Celtic, before steering Tottenham to UEFA Europa League glory in 2024/25.
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