Ansu Fati bites Vinicius

Klopp devised a machine to polish Borussia football with which he dazzled in Europe. A 14 meter side robotic cage with 72 light panels. The footballer stood in the center. He had to control a ball that could come high or low and at different speeds and give a pass to the panel that lit up. Everything, in the shortest time possible. “It's about improving reaction time and accuracy.” But, how to improve the success on goal? “You have the goal or you don't have it,” Klopp always insisted. “And if you don't have it, it's impossible to improve by practicing.” That is the shadow that has always haunted Vinicius (20 years), without a doubt, Madrid's most destabilizing player since he arrived at a squad that now seems to take off.

The game against Levante was the best example of the roller coaster in which the Brazilian lives. He scored a great goal with his first shot on goal. The first time he has hooked two games in a row, scoring of the 72 he has played for Madrid. And when he seemed to have scared away their ghosts with that precise action, he crossed too much his second occasion to end up missing another one later, this one, just two meters from the finish line …

However, Vinicius left the La Cerámica stadium strengthened. “The young people of Madrid are obliged to take a step forward and he has taken it,” said Valdano in the post-match of Movistar. “His performance has been remarkable, his progression is being positive,” Butragueño completed. Now, Vinicius is also pressured by the irruption of Ansu Fati (17). The comparison is almost mandatory. Ansu Fati has 11 goals and an assist in 35 games for Barça. Vinicius, 10 goals and 10 assists in 72 games for white.

Few in the offices of the Bernabéu doubt that Vini is the future. “He will be a player with 25 goals per season,” they say. Statistics speak of that step forward. In his first year at Madrid he needed 29 shots to score each of his three goals. In the second, 10 (he made five goals). Now, in the third, he has scored two goals with eight shots.