The Barcelona dressing room is extremely angry with Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior's behavior in the side's recent 4-0 defeat to Los Blancos in El Clasico.
According to SPORT, Barcelona players are infuriated with Vinicius, who clashed with several Blaugrana players in a tense affair at Camp Nou on Wednesday (April 5). The Brazilian was instrumental in Madrid's victory, getting on the scoresheet and assisting Karim Benzema to complete his hat-trick. Les Merengues cruised through to the final of the Copa del Rey.
However, tempers flared in the first half when Vinicius was involved in a confrontation with Gavi. The duo were booked for the incident. The Brazilian also exchanged words with the Barcelona midfielder at half-time.
Vinicius then clashed with Ronald Araujo and also Ferran Torres, even telling the latter that he was terrible. The incident led to Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti substituting him late on. The Barca dressing room feels that Vinicius' behavior is ruining the harmony the two sides have built since the El Clasico rivalry of the Jose Mourinho era.
Araujo called Vinicius out after the game to focus more on arguing than on playing his football. Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde seemed to back his compatriot over his Los Blancos teammate. He said (via Football-Espana):
“We have to think a little more. Not only the Barcelona players. Us too. It’s part of football. Instead of enjoying the game, you face them.”
Real Madrid secured a memorable 4-0 victory over Barca at Camp Nou. They won the Copa del Rey semi-final 4-1 on aggregate and will face Osasuna in the final on May 6.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric reacts to win over Barcelona and place in Copa del Rey final
Luka Modric was delighted that Real Madrid managed to seal their place in the final of the Copa del Rey with a win over their El Clasico rivals. The Croatian midfielder said (via MadridXtra):
"I'm very happy, very proud of this team, of everything. Thank you. We have to enjoy and celebrate."
The veteran midfielder continued by alluding to the fact that Los Blancos haven't won the Copa del Rey since 2014:
"The last time we won Copa del Rey was 2014. Now we can do it again after almost 10 years."
Los Merengues' Copa del Rey triumph in 2014 came with a win over Barcelona in the final. Modric featured in the victory and is evidently eager to achieve more glory in the competition.