Champions League
Apr 16, 2025 8.00pm
1
2
HT : 0 0
FT Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
  • David Alaba 4' yellowcard
  • Raul Asencio del Rosario 11' yellowcard
  • Vinicius Junior 67' goal
  • Antonio Rudiger 85' yellowcard
  • yellowcard David Raya 36'
  • goal Bukayo Saka 65'
  • yellowcard Thomas Partey 85'
  • goal Gabriel Martinelli 90'+3'

Real Madrid vs Arsenal: Vinicius Junior out to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Raul feat

Vinicius Junior out to emulate Ronaldo, Benzema, Raul feat vs. Arsenal

Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior has another chance to hit an impressive milestone when they welcome Arsenal to the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Los Blancos have it all to do on home soil, trailing 3-0 from the first leg after two stunning Declan Rice free kicks sent Arsenal on their way, before Mikel Merino added some late gloss to the scoreline.

Real have overturned a first-leg deficit on 25 previous occasions, but never have they come back from three goals down heading into a second leg.

Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping for some magic from Vini Jr though, as the 15-time winners seek to create more history.

Vini Jr to join exclusive Real Madrid club?

With 28 goals and 21 assists to his name across his Champions League career, Vini Jr has the chance to become the fourth different Real Madrid player to reach 50 goal involvements in the competition.

Only club legends Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Raul have achieved this feat, with all three notching over 50 goals alone in the competition for the club.

Real Madrid having four players reach this milestone would see them have at least twice as many players on it as any other team, with Bayern Munich the only club to have two players who have managed it - Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.

While Vini Jr is some way short of matching the goal tallies of those three Los Blancos legends, he is already well established as a club legend, having scored in two Champions League finals.

If he can be the catalyst in an astonishing comeback on Wednesday, then it could outweigh any of his previous accomplishments though, while also making the club favourites to retain their European title.

Can Vini Jr and Mbappe help achieve the improbable

Vini Jr has played 23 matches against British clubs in a Real Madrid shirt, scoring nine times and registering 11 assists, including a famous goal against Liverpool in the 2022 final.

Last Tuesday's clash was his first against Arsenal, and after a quiet evening at the Emirates, he will hope to make amends for that in the second leg.

Strike partner Kylian Mbappe could help with that, and the Frenchman has a very good record against English clubs too, from his time at Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe has been involved in eight goals in eight knockout stage games against English sides in the Champions League, scoring seven and setting up another, with five of them coming in four home outings.

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Who will win Wednesday's Champions League clash between Real Madrid and Arsenal?
Real Madrid 58%
Draw 14%
Arsenal 29%
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