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Real Madrid fans have lauded Vinicius Junior's superb performance in the 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Wednesday (April 5), claiming that he has a better El Clasico legacy than Blaugrana legend Lionel Messi. Los Merengues advanced to the Copa del Rey final following a 4-1 aggregate win.
Much of the talk around the Blaugrana this week has been about Messi and his potential return to the club. The PSG attacker's contract expires at the end of the season, and Barca are interested in a reunion this summer.
Messi dominated the El Clasico during his 16 seasons with Barcelona, scoring 26 goals and providing 14 assists. However, the Argentine icon may have fresh competition in being deemed 'the King of El Clasico'.
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Vinicus conjured up a stellar performance as Real Madrid thrashed Barcelona at Camp Nou. The Brazilian opened the scoring in the 45+1st minute. He glided his way towards the Blaugrana box and played a neat one-two with Karim Benzema before firing past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Benzema netted the next three goals, including one from the spot, thanks to more brilliance from Vinicius. The young forward's trickery caused Franck Kessie to stand on his feet in the penalty box, gifting Madrid a penalty.
Vinicius' memorable night didn't stop there, as he provided an excellent assist for Benzema to seal his hat-trick in the 80th minute. He charged at the Barcelona defence before drifting inside to find the Los Blancos captain.
It was a performance many Real Madrid fans will remember as Vinicius left his mark on the El Clasico. His tally in the rivalry now stands at three goals and one assist.
One fan lauded the Brazilian's display by making a bold claim over him and Messi:
"Vinicius Jr has a better El Clasico Legacy than Messi already."
Another has predicted Vinicius to go on and achieve greatness:
"Vinicius Jr having the whole camp nou in tears , destined for greatness."
Here's how Twitter reacted to the Real Madrid attacker's phenomenal display against Barcelona:
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi took dig at Real Madrid for their 2021-22 UEFA Champions League triumph
Real Madrid won the Champions League last season in one of the most remarkable campaigns in tournament history. They staged memorable comeback wins over Messi's PSG and English champions Manchester City en route to the final.
The 3-1 comeback win over PSG frustrated Messi, as he felt Los Blancos were not the better team. He spoke with TyC Sports in May last year when he made the claim. He said:
“The Real Madrid game killed us – the best team doesn’t always win."
Madrid sealed further win over Chelsea (5-4 aggregate) and Manchester City (6-5) before beating Liverpool (1-0) in the final. The Argentine icon, though, said that Madrid weren't the best team in the tournament:
“Without taking anything away from Madrid, because they are the champions of Europe, and they’re always there or thereabouts, but they weren’t the best team of this Champions League.
The 14-time European champions take on Chelsea in the first leg of the last eight on Wednesday (April 12) at the Santiago Bernabeu. The tie will conclude at Stamford Bridge six days later.
