Who is leaking information from Carlo Ancelotti’s dressing room to Madrid journalists? And for what reasons? The identity of Real Madrid’s number 1 penalty taker has been a real topic for a few days. In the first seven matches of the season in all competitions (one in the European Super Cup, five matches in La Liga and the first in the Champions League), Vinicius seems clearly designated as the person responsible for penalty kicks. He has scored his only two goals from the penalty spot, offering two penalties to his new teammate Kylian Mbappé.
Before Real-Stuttgart, Relevo explained that “Vini” was in front of Mbappé and that the Brazilian had the freedom to give the Frenchman a penalty if he had already scored before during the match. Against the German team, Tuesday at the Bernabéu, after a foul in the area on Antonio Rüdiger, the captain of the Blues gave the ball to the Brazilian star, who then gave it to Jude Bellingham, who was making his return to the competition, before the penalty was cancelled by the video assistant. The analysis of the images is clear and precise.
Mbappé on the same level as Vinicius
Brand have nevertheless been forced, this Thursday, to explain that there is no main penalty taker in the Merengues first team. Ancelotti would have left it to his players to establish the hierarchy of penalty takers and Vinicius and Mbappé would be the two main players in charge of penalty kicks (ahead of Bellingham, therefore). A small turnaround offered by the main sports newspaper in Spain which has the merit of confusing things. If the Italian staff really gave carte blanche to its stars, a penalty gate is clearly emerging, even with Vinicius’s generosity of the moment.
Contrary to what one might think, being in charge of penalties, especially in a team as dominant as Real (often favored by referees according to some), allows one to explode one’s personal statistics. Mbappé is coming off a season with 44 goals in 48 matches in all competitions with PSG, including 10 penalties. Vinicius brings much more to the game than the Bondy player by making a difference on the left. He finished the previous season with 24 goals, including three penalties. With around ten more goals thanks to penalties, he can approach the 40-goal mark. And surpass Mbappé…
