Carlo Ancelotti saluted the performance of Vinicius Junior in Wednesday's Club World Cup win over Al Ahly as the Real Madrid forward managed to ignore the recent furore around him.
Vinicius has been become a regular target for racist abuse from fans this season, with footage on social media appearing to show discriminatory remarks being directed at him during Madrid's 1-0 defeat to Real Mallorca on Sunday.
LaLiga launched an investigation into that incident the following day, though it was by no means the first example of Vinicius being abused this term.
The 22-year-old was subjected to racist chanting in both of Madrid's matches with city rivals Atletico Madrid, while LaLiga filed hate crime charges to Spanish courts after similar incidents in December's game with Real Valladolid.
Ancelotti subsequently insisted such treatment is indicative of a wider problem in Spanish football.
Vinicius went on to play a starring role as Madrid beat Al Ahly 4-1 in Rabat to reach the Club World Cup final, and Ancelotti was asked if being away from Spain helped him feel more at ease on the pitch.
"He likes to play football to the best of his abilities wherever he is, always," Ancelotti said of the 22-year-old, who put Madrid ahead with one of his four attempts and also created three chances.
"Today, he's always tried. He played a complete game, he was always dangerous and he scored a fantastic goal.
"He's been the Vinicius that you've seen in many games. He has shown again what he is, and that is a great player."
Luka Modric had a penalty saved in the latter stages on Wednesday when Madrid were 2-1 up.
Ultimately his failure mattered little as Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas scored in stoppage time to complete a resounding victory, and Ancelotti is not going to overthink the Croatian's miss.
"I have to choose better shooters," Ancelotti joked.
"Sometimes they fail. Luka usually does well, and you have to choose the best. I have made it quite clear: Karim [Benzema], Modric and, when the others aren't there, [Marco] Asensio [are the main takers].
"It's difficult to train on penalties. The environmental factors cannot be replicated in training."
Arribas' late strike was the 21-year-old's first senior goal for Madrid, and his impact off the bench was notable due to his status as an academy player.
Homegrown youngsters have struggled to earn minutes for Los Blancos this term, particularly in LaLiga, with Eduardo Camavinga the only player aged under 21 to make a top-flight appearance for them in the 2022-23 campaign.
Ancelotti stressed the young players are not forgotten about, however.
"The youth academy is a very important aspect, no one forgets the players from the youth academy," he said. "But we must bear in mind that it's not easy to give them minutes because the level of the first-team is very, very high.
"We are evaluating [the young players], they are progressing. The academy coaches are doing a great job, and [the young players] will soon be in the first team.
"But this squad has won the Champions League – it's a very good squad."
Madrid will face Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup final on Saturday.
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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