Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Real Betis. Kylian Mbappe ended his goalless run in league competition in the Royal White jersey with a match-winning brace. The first one was assisted by Federico Valverde while the Frenchman converted the second from the spot after Vinicius Junior won the penalty.
There had been some talk about who would be on penalty duty for Real Madrid this season. Vinicius had no problem handing the spot kick to his new teammate despite winning it himself.
Real Betis manager, Manuel Pellegrini, did not agree with the penalty that was awarded to his former side though. He felt that Vinicius had dived to win it.
As reported by SPORT, Pellegrini said about the incident after the game:
"We tried to play as equals, I think we achieved that for much of the match. We had opportunities to open the scoring. Mbappé's goal came, the game opened up a bit more, and a second goal in which the VAR intervened in a penalty that Vinicius took when the ball had gone out of his way, he dived on the goalkeeper. The referee decided that the VAR had to be reviewed and with that the game went in Real Madrid's favour."
Manuel Pellegrini claims Real Madrid player dived to win penalty
One can see Pellegrini's point of view on the matter but at the same time, it is easy to understand why the penalty was given. We see them being awarded every matchday and this was not an extraordinary call by any means.
Is Vinicius smart with the timing of his fall and perhaps making sure that there is contact between himself and the Real Betis goalkeeper? Maybe. That is just part of football though. It is part of being a difference-maker and the Brazilian quite certainly is that for Real Madrid.
It was a good gesture on his part to let Mbappe take the penalty as well. The Frenchman needs as many goals as he can get after going without one in his first three league appearances for Real Madrid.
There has been a lot of discussion about the duo of Mbappe and Vinicius in recent days after Real Madrid's shaky start to the campaign. All seemed rosy against Real Betis though and if they can build on this result and keep improving, they should be flying once again in no time.