Ancelotti unhappy with treatment of Vinicius Jr, wants more respect for Real Madrid star
FootballGabriel Paulista Apologizes After Brutal Tackle on Vinicius Junior
- Gabriel Paulista has apologised for his wild kick at Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior
- Gabriel Paulista received a straight red card against Real Madrid on Thursday
- Real Madrid defeated Valencia 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu
Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista has apologised for his reckless tackle on Vinicius Junior that saw him receive a red card during Valencia's 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid on Thursday.
The unfortunate incident transpired inside the second half at the Sanitiago Bernabeu after Vinicius had bribbled past the ex-Arsenal central defender.
Gabriel, making no attempt to play the ball, aggressively hacked at the legs of his fellow Brazilian.
Fortunately for Vinicius, he had seen Gabriel coming and had jumped into the air in an attempt to evade the assault.
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Had the Real player's leg been grounded at the time of impact, a serious injury could have occurred
Gabriel's attack on Vinicius may have been motivated by what had happed 18 minutes earlier.
Vinicius spectacularly outpaced the defender en route to scoring Real's second goal.
Gabriel's apology
The former Arsenal defender made a public apology on Instagram on Friday.
"I accept the criticism and the red card, I'm not proud of it. I am a harsh player, but also noble. I respect Vinicius and it was never my intention to hurt him," Gabriel wrote.
"We are suffering a lot at this great club, experiencing a very difficult situation and feelings are running high. Sometimes it is difficult to control the nerves. I didn't control them and I sincerely apologize. I apologize to the fans. We will continue fighting until the end to reverse this situation. Let no one doubt us."
Watch Odegaard's sublime skill that embarrassed Man United's defence
FootballAsensio's cracking goal
Marco Asensio's long-range effort paved the way for Real Madrid to pick all three points at stake against Valencia.
After huffing and puffing to no avail in the first half, Asensio finally broke the deadlock for Carlo Ancelotti's men seven minutes after recess.
Having been handed his first start since January 22, the Spanish forward repaid the confidence reposed in him by Ancelotti with a stunning drive.
The 27-year-old who has developed a knack for scoring superlative goals pulled one from his locker, scoring a jaw-dropping goal from outside the box which left the Valencia goalkeeper stationary.
Real return to winning ways
Real Madrid reduced Barcelona's La Liga lead to five points with a 2-0 win over Valencia on Thursday, thanks to spectacular goals from Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior, Sports Brief earlier reported.
The duo struck in a three-minute second-half salvo which stunned the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Valencia were later reduced to 10 men when Gabriel Paulista took a wild hack at Vinicius.
Madrid dominated throughout but an otherwise good night was tainted when captain Karim Benzema went off injured in the second half with an apparent thigh problem, and Eder Militao was also replaced for a similar reason.