Real Madrid fans will always love Jose Mourinho for how he led their club as manager in the early 2010s, but after his disgraceful comments minimizing racism, it felt good to watch Vinicius Junior sink him.
Vinicius Jr. scored a brilliant opening goal that was shrouded by controversy afterwards in the first leg, and then he sealed the tie in the second leg with another goal on the break, meaning that he scored in both ties against Benfica.
According to Madrid Xtra, that’s actually a record. In addition to all the other history Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid made at Jose Mourinho’s expense, Vini Jr. is the first player to ever score in both ties against a Mourinho-led side.
Mourinho is a manager famously known for his hard-nosed defenses and stability, going back to his days at Porto and Chelsea early in his career and even extended now to his run at Roma.
So for Vinicius to tear him apart with surgical precision on two breakaways to send the tie Real’s way is a massive accomplishment, and what makes it all the sweeter is the fact that Vini Jr. did it to a former Real Madrid manager who had the nerve to say racism can’t occur because Benfica once had Eusebio.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.