While struggling to find his best form in the UEFA Champions League debut, Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho asked for "respect" for Vinicius Junior after being booed. Vinicius Junior remains far from his peak form, a reality Real Madrid supporters made clear by whistling the Brazilian during their UEFA Champions League clash against Inter Milan. Following the fixture, manager Jose Mourinho backed the winger while demanding “respect” as he works to rediscover his best form. With Real Madrid hosting Inter at the Santiago Bernabeu for Matchday 1 of the 2026-27 UCL campaign, Kylian Mbappe and Brahim Diaz provided the attacking spark, while Vinicius experienced a quieter night. That frustration was made evident by the crowd when he was substituted in the 87th minute, with scattered applause drowned out by noticeable boos and whistles from home supporters. During his post-match press conference, Jose Mourinho addressed his post-game comments calling for respect toward Vinicius following the crowd’s reaction, and the manager did not hold back: “I am not criticizing the fans; I am speaking as a coach and about my relationship with him, who deserves complete respect.“ The Portuguese manager then delivered a firm message emphasizing that while Vinicius is not in peak form, his effort levels remain unquestioned as he strives to return to his match-winning standard. “He is not at his best, that is something we all see, but he is the first to know it, and he is working very hard to be the Vinícius who decides matches. But despite not being at top form, he is working harder than ever in training and in matches,” he added. 🚨⚪️ José Mourinho: “Vinicius deserves all my RESPECT”.“He’s not at his 100% and he knows it. He is working more than ever to recover his form. I have so much respect for this Vinicius”. pic.twitter.com/OiRERFNSUi— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 8, 2026 In front of goal, Vinicius struggled to find precision, failing to hit the target on three shot attempts, but he played a crucial role in advancing possession into Inter Milan territory. Recording eight progressive carries, the Brazilian covered 342 yards (312.8 meters) with the ball at his feet, the highest mark of any Real Madrid player in the match, while contributing heavily in defense. Mourinho concluded by reflecting on Vinicius’ overall output, expressing full confidence in the forward’s trajectory: “The few times he hasn’t been able to stay compact and defend with the block, it was due to fatigue, because he made six 50-meter sprints with the ball. It is not easy, but his commitment has been very good. I have immense respect for this Vinicius that I have encountered. The time will come when he will decide and win matches.“ Vinicius supplies crucial defensive output With Mbappe opening the scoring in the 14th minute and Federico Valverde doubling the advantage in the 23rd, Real Madrid allowed Inter to control possession while threatening on the counter-attack, a setup suited to Vinicius’ physical profile. However, the Brazilian also provided a level of defensive work rate unseen from a Real Madrid forward in over 17 years. According to OptaJose, Vinicius Junior registered nine ball recoveries against Inter Milan. The last forward to record that level of defensive output in a Champions League match for Real Madrid was Gonzalo Higuain in December 2008 during a 3-0 win over Zenit St. Petersburg. That metric represents a notable statement, particularly following Real Madrid’s pre-match press conference criticism questioning whether Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe possessed the defensive work rate of peers like Ousmane Dembele.
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta (Picture: Getty) Arsenal chiefs were full of praise for summer signing Christos Tzolis at the Champions League draw and told Club Brugge of his exploits in training. Greece international Tzolis signed a long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium in July after Arsenal agreed a £34m deal with Club Brugge. Mikel Arteta targeted the 24-year-old after sanctioning the exit of Leandro Trossard, while Arsenal also put Gabriel Martinelli up for the sale. Tzolis has enjoyed a bright start to his career in north London, helping the Premier League champions win their first four games of the season ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League opener against Napoli. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. After bringing Tzolis to the club, Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta insisted the Greek winger would ‘raise the technical level of our squad’ and bring a ‘strong mentality to our team’. Those high up at the Emirates Stadium were equally positive about Tzolis when bumping into officials from Club Brugge during last month’s Champions League draw in Monaco. President of the Belgian club, Bart Verhaeghe, said Arsenal were raving about the £34m signing and revealed he had been ‘coming out on top’ in various tests in training. Arsenal summer signing Christos Tzolis (Picture: Getty) ‘At the Champions League draw, I saw people from Arsenal and they showed a tremendous amount of respect,’ Verhaeghe told Het Belang van Limburg. ‘”What a player you’ve delivered”, they told me. They said he has an excellent attitude, is the best in the physical tests and is a great guy, too.’ In a separate interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, the Club Brugge chief added: ‘Arsenal said “what a player” when they approached me after the draw. https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc9S3CDETkp/?hl=en&img_index=1 ‘Christos had come out on top in all the tests. That’s what we do here: deliver a ready-made product. Because we know what those top teams are looking for. We prepare our players for that kind of football. ‘Back then, people laughed at our holistic approach to nutrition, sleep, special glasses… Today, it’s all standard practice. We were the innovators from day one, and we’ll keep innovating. ‘Today, we’re selling players to Arsenal and Inter Milan, two teams that have reached the Champions League final in the last two years. {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Mikel Arteta speaks before Champions League match against Napoli","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/08\/3761798954835882587\/480x270_MP4_3761798954835882587.mp4","description":"Arsenal's Mikel speaks to the press on Tuesday ahead of their Champions League match against Napoli on Wednesday at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.","duration":"T1M34S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/08\/22\/111127717-0-image-m-34_1788904072537.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-08T22:46:27+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); ‘And at the same time, we’re recruiting directly from the Premier League, from a club like West Ham. 10 years ago, that was unthinkable.’ Last month, Arsenal defender Ben White revealed Tzolis was ‘beating everyone’ in pre-season testing. ‘Christo
The 2027 tournament will mark the first time the World Cup has been held in Latin America, in a country where women were banned from playing soccer as recently as 1979. The post Brazil great Formiga says 2027 World Cup will ‘change players’ lives’ appeared first on Soccer America.
Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid’s win over Inter Milan (Picture: Getty) Steve McManaman claims Real Madrid fans turned on Vinicius Junior during their hard-fought Champions League win over Inter Milan. Jose Mourinho’s side kick-started their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Serie A champions Inter on Tuesday night. Real Madrid were far from at their best but took control in the first-half through goals from Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde. Inter Milan dominated possession throughout the match and Madrid’s lack of control caused huge tension inside the Bernabeu. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The whistles from the home fans grew louder and louder as Real Madrid failed to put the game to bed and McManaman felt some of the anger was directed at Vinicius. The Brazilian winger has endured a slow start to the new season after a summer in which he was heavily linked with a move to Premier League champions Arsenal. ‘You can hear the whistles at Vinicius Junior,’ former Real Madrid midfielder McManaman said on TNT Sports after the 26-year-old gave the ball away in the second half. Real Madrid beat Inter Milan 2-1 at the Bernabeu (Picture: Getty) ‘Listen to that… they are not happy with Vini Junior at all. He certainly has a love-hate relationship with the fans.’ The frustration inside the Bernabeu only increased when Inter Milan pulled a goal back on 77 minutes through Carlos Augusto. Inter then hit the woodwork as they chased an equaliser but ultimately returned to Italy empty-handed, with Madrid beginning their Champions League campaign with a narrow win. Jose Mourinho during Madrid’s European win (Picture: Getty) Vinicius’ late substitution was met by a mixed reaction by the Madrid fans but Mourinho made a point of applauding the Brazilian as he made his way off the pitch. Asked about Vinicius’ performance after the game, Mourinho said: ‘He worked hard – incredibly hard. ‘I know it, we all know it, and he knows it – he isn’t quite sharp yet – he isn’t quite ‘Vinicius’ yet –but he works hard, and anyone who works hard and gives their all deserves respect.’ Full-time scenes at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start! 👏📺 Watch live on TNT Sports & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/CsUfcz29sg— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) September 8, 2026 Discussing Real Madrid’s win more generally, Mourinho added: ‘I prefer to call this a crazy match – generally, there’s so much criticism when a game is boring, but today it was crazy – it could easily have ended 7-6. ‘We had a depleted midfield, Inter made substitutions very early on, and I didn’t have many options for midfield. ‘I made changes when I saw the players were struggling, but I think they did a great job. It certainly wasn’t boring. ‘We had the chance to make it 3-0 in the final minute of the first half. I want to give credit to my players because pressing is something you train for and [Federico] Valverde’s goal is the result of hard work. ‘It’s one thing that neither you nor they have control of the match – and I’d say our opponent didn’t have it either. ‘[Thibaut] Courtois made a lot of saves, but how many chances did we miss in transition? It was a great match.’ Next up for Real Madrid in the Champions League are RB Leipzig, while Inter Milan will look to bounce back against Club Brugge. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
KIERAN GILL: Alonso has held private talks with Estevao Willian amid speculation that Chelsea's Brazilian boy wonder is concerned with his lack of opportunities and new manager's vision for him.
Arda Guler and Bernardo Silva will both miss Real Madrid's Champions League opener against Inter Milan due to red-card suspensions carried over from last season. Real Madrid will be without Arda Guler and Bernardo Silva for their Champions League opener against Inter Milan, with both players serving suspensions carried over from red cards picked up in their final European appearances of last season. Eduardo Camavinga is also unavailable under the same circumstance, having been sent off by a second yellow card in the 87th minute of last season’s quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich. Under UEFA regulations, yellow-card suspensions are wiped between seasons, but red-card bans carry forward, meaning Jose Mourinho has no way around the absences barring an exceptional pardon, which has not been granted in either case. The Portuguese coach will instead turn to Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde to anchor his midfield against an Inter side eager to make an early statement in the new league phase. 📋✅ ¡Nuestros convocados!🆚 @Inter_es pic.twitter.com/2hmtAAD7Kd— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) September 8, 2026 Where do Guler and Silva’s suspensions come from? Guler‘s suspension stems from a sending-off in the same quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich in which Camavinga was also dismissed, with the Turkish midfielder picking up two yellow cards of his own. The one-match ban that followed had gone unserved by the end of last season and now carries into Real Madrid’s first group-phase match of the new campaign. Bernardo Silva‘s case carries a layer of irony, since his red card came while he was still playing for Manchester City against Real Madrid in last season’s round of 16, when he was sent off for deliberately handling the ball to stop a goal, a decision that led to Vinicius Junior converting the resulting penalty. Having since completed a move to the Bernabeu, the Portuguese midfielder now finds himself suspended for his own team’s Champions League opener because of that incident.
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