Vinicius Jr is full of confidence at the moment and the gifted Brazilian produced some eye-catching skills during Real Madrid’s 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night.The 21-year-old winger played the full 90 minutes as Los Blancos extended their lead to seven points at the top of La Liga.Karim Benzema, who finished fourth in the voting for the 2021 Ballon d’Or earlier this week, scored the only goal of the game shortly before half-time.It was Vinicius Jr, though, who had fans on the edge of their seats at the Santiago Bernabeu.The Brazil international is currently in the best form of his Real Madrid career so far under Carlo Ancelotti.
Often criticised for his inconsistency and lack of end product during his first three seasons in Spain following his €46 million move from Flamengo in July 2018, Vinicius is now showing exactly why Real Madrid splashed out so much money for his signature when he was still only a teenager.The second top goalscorer in La Liga as things stand with nine goals, two behind Benzema, Vinicius has netted 11 goals and provided a further seven assists in 20 appearances this season.Following his stunning winning goal against Sevilla last weekend, Ancelotti backed the South American to be sat in the Ballon d’Or awards hall in the future.“Of course, Vinicius has the talent to be in the gala one day,” the Italian coach told reporters, per Football Espana.
Video: Vinicius skills for Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao
Like his compatriot Ronaldinho, who lit up La Liga during his incredible spell with Barcelona in the 2000s, Vinicius is a showman who loves to entertain.
He produced this brilliant dummy to bamboozle Oscar de Marcos in the second half:
Filth!
And we also saw this lovely touch and clever pass to get past Nico Williams:
Vinicius was out there playing real life FIFA Street.
It’s fantastic to see him playing with a smile on his face and expressing himself on the pitch.
Real Madrid have a special player on their hands and it’s now clear that he possesses all the tools to reach the very top.
