Vinícius Júnior scored twice to lead Real Madrid back to 2-2 against Valencia in the Spanish league on Saturday in his first return to Mestalla Stadium where he was racially abused last season. Vincius scored in the 50th and 76th minutes to wipe out first-half goals by Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk.
Last May’s racial attack was among the worst the Black player has had to endure repeatedly in Spain. It led to an outpouring of support for the Brazilian forward and forced soccer authorities to take action, even though the abuse against him has continued.
While there were no immediate reports of more racial insults towards him on Saturday, a large group of spectators did chant ‘Vincius is stupid’ and booed him loudly throughout.
After his first goal, Vincius held up his fist towards the Valencia fans behind the goal. After his equalizer, he cupped his ears as if asking for more from the fans who jeered him.
Madrid leads the league with a seven-point advantage over Girona and a nine-point advantage over Barcelona before both play games on Sunday. Aurélien Tchouaméni’s crash into Mouctar Diakhaby in the final minutes left Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby on a stretcher with a leg injury.
Jude Bellingham, who leads the league with 16 goals, started for Madrid after missing three games with an ankle sprain. The game ended with a tussle between the teams after the referee waived off what would have been a last-gasp winner by Bellingham, saying time had expired.
SOCIEDAD LOSES
Real Sociedad lost 3-2 against Sevilla as the Basque Country club continued to struggle before hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Youssef En-Nesyri scored back-to-back goals in the 11th and 13th minutes for Sevilla. After André Silva pulled one back from the penalty spot for Sociedad, Sergio Ramos added a third goal for Sevilla with a header in the 65th minute. Bryce Méndez scored a free kick in stoppage time for the visitors’ second goal.
Sociedad’s defeat resulted in them being in seventh place and losing touch with the leaders. One of Sevilla’s best performances in an otherwise poor season saw it rise to 14th.
Sociedad will host PSG on Tuesday, needing to overcome a 2-0 first-leg loss in the round of 16. Imanol Alguacil’s Sociedad started the season strong, but they have lost five of their last six games in all competitions. Mallorca lost the Copa del Rey semifinals to them on penalties in front of their fans in San Sebastian this week.
MAYORAL HURT
Borja Mayoral, who has 15 league goals, had to be substituted late in his team’s 3-3 draw with Las Palmas due to an apparent left leg injury. Getafe wasted leads of 2-0 and 3-2. Munir El Haddadi’s decisive equalizer was the final nail in Las Palmas’ comeback.
HAIL STORM
Rayo Vallecano’s 1-1 draw with Cadiz was paused for several minutes in the second half when hail pelted the field during a heavy rainstorm.
