MADRID (Reuters) – Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti praised the ‘extraordinary’ Vinicius Jr on Tuesday after the Brazilian forward scored a second-half hat-trick to help them fight back from two goals down and thrash visitors Borussia Dortmund 5-2 in the Champions League.
Ancelotti told a press conference he was convinced that the 24-year-old Vinicius would win the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world on Monday.
“What I can say is that it’s rare to see a player who plays a second half like Vinicius did. And not because of the three goals but because of his character; he’s extraordinary,” Ancelotti said.
“Vinicius is going to win (the Ballon d’Or), not for what he did tonight, but for what he did last year. These three goals are already going to count for next year’s Ballon d’Or, that’s for sure. He is a player who gets whistled at because he can make a difference.”
In a rematch of last season’s final, Ancelotti said there was no panic in the changing room after Real went into the halftime break two goals down, and that his side had the maturity and experience to understand what they needed to do to come back.
“We lived it calmly, calmly (over the break). We changed the system and came back playing more intensely,” Ancelotti said.
“Talking about scoring three goals might have seemed utopian, so we talked about small details like passing well, winning duels… We had to win the dynamic of the game and from there you start to win the game.
“We were timid in the first half, we weren’t intense on the ball and in the second half we did better with more quality, more pressure. It was the best second half of the season.
“We have to learn from what we did in the second half. The aim is to start the game and not wait for them to put two past us. I don’t think we can play 90 minutes with the intensity of the second half but we can be more balanced.”
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; editing by Clare Fallon)
