Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Mallorca on Thursday ended in a scuffle that resulted in Vinicius Junior having to be restrained in the tunnel.
The Brazil international has been involved in a long-running war of words with Mallorca right-back Pablo Maffeo, who previously joked that he would beat Vinicius in “10 seconds” if the two sides clashed on the field.
Tensions between the two players boiled over just minutes into Thursday’s game. Maffeo shoved Vinicius, who responded by slapping the Mallorca defender in the chest, causing him to theatrically tumble to the ground.
How Vinicius, who vowed to kick Mallorca out of the competition, called Maffeo ‘terrible’ before he was penalized for committing five or more fouls against Maffeo. was caught on camera.
Just after the hour mark, Jude Bellingham scored Madrid’s first goal. Vinicius was sent off with two minutes remaining, but an own goal and a 95th-minute strike from Rodrigo erased any doubts about the result.
Maffeo’s reaction to the third goal was enough to provoke reactions from both Bellingham and centre-back Raul Asensio, who found themselves at the center of a huge brawl in the final moments of the game.
Maffeo clashed with many Real Madrid players and staff/Yasser Bakhsh/GettyImages
After the final whistle, Vinicius himself became involved in the controversy, with footage showing him being restrained in the tunnel after trying to claw back at the Mallorca side.
“We’re not talking about him, it’s what he wants,” Madrid midfielder Aurelien Choameny said of Maffeo after the match.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was disappointed by the ugly outcome of the match.
“It was an unnecessary battle for both teams,” he told reporters. “That doesn’t make sense.
“It was unnecessary. The game was already over. I don’t blame anyone, neither the Mallorca players nor the Real Madrid players. But that kind of ‘battle’ was unnecessary. The players got a little heated. So I tried to calm things down.”I had a bit of a fallout with Maffeo, but nothing happened in the end, but we didn’t need that ending. ”
