Vinicius has a score to settle with Barcelona
The Brazilian has failed to score at the Camp Nou in four visits, going 331 minutes without a goal against the El Clasico rivals.
This evening Vinicius Jr will line up at Camp Nou for a crucial El Clásico clash, facing two of his toughest opponents. Not only is he expected to face Ronald Araújo on the right side of the Barcelona backline, but he will continue his searchfor a first goal at Camp Nou.
In his four previous visits to the stadium - three in the league and one in the cup - he has played 331 minutes without scoring a goal. For a player whose statistical output has improved so much in recent seasons, that represents a disappointing return.
However the Brazilian’s time in Barcelona has not been entirely unsuccessful and his side have lost only one of those four matches. However that defeat was a crucial one and it came in Los Blancos’ most recent visit, on 19 March, which all but sealed Barca’s La Liga title.
In 2020/21 and 2021/22, Madrid triumphed 1-3 and 1-2 with Vinicius playing from the start. In the 2018/19 Madrid drew 1-1 at the Camp Nou in another Copa Del Rey semi-final. With Barcelona’s 1-0 lead from the first leg, Madrid know that they have to win on the night to stand a chance of progressing to the final.
However the Vinicius who will line up in Camp Nou this evening is very different to the one who first played there four years ago. He has scored 19 goals this campaign and stands on 41 since the start of last season.
And although he was not on the scoresheet in the recent La Liga clash, Vinicius did escape Araújo’s attention for long enough to set up the goal for Madrid. Their only goal in that 2-1 defeat came from a cross by the Brazilian that was turned into his own net by Araújo.
Tonight marks a new opportunity for Vinicius to bury his curse at the Camp Nou and will be his last chance to do so for a while. The iconic stadium will undergo renovations next season and the club will be temporarily housed in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Montjuïc until the work has been completed.