- Vinicius Jr.’s opening goal in Sunday’s match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona meant he became the youngest player this century to score in “El Clasico.”
- Lionel Messi had previously held the record, according to Opta, thanks to a late equalizer in a 3-3 draw in March 2007.
- Madrid won 2-0 on the day, with substitute Mariano Diaz completing the scoring in the 92nd minute with what was almost his first touch of the game.
- Head trainer Zinedine Zidane was full of praise for Diaz after, telling the club’s official website that he was “blown away by his goal.”
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Vinicius Jr.’s opening goal in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win against FC Barcelona on Sunday was significant.
First, it provided the first of two goals which saw Madrid triumph over its biggest rivals for the first time in the Spanish league for four years.
Second, it meant the 19-year-old Brazilian became the youngest player this century to score in “El Clasico” – a record which was previously held by Lionel Messi.
Vinicius steered home from close range in the 71st minute after being fed through by Toni Kroos, and according to Opta, the 19-year-old was 26 days younger than Messi when he first scored in the fixture in March, 2007.
On that day, Barca and Madrid drew 3-3 at Camp Nou, with the Argentine netting a 91st minute equalizer for the Catalans.
Watch Vinicius' record breaking goal here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrW9fVZ3zdg?start=52
Madrid's forgotten man, Mariano Diaz - who was making only his third appearance of the season - completed the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu when he came off the bench in added time to score with his first few touches.
After latching on to a clever throw-in from Dani Carvajal, Diaz stormed past Nelson Semedo down the right flank before slotting the ball under the reaches of opposition goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen.
The 26-year-old striker, who re-signed for Madrid from Olympique Lyonnais for $25 million in 2018, had yet to feature in La Liga this season prior to his dramatic cameo at the weekend.
He has played only 14 minutes of soccer all season.
"[Diaz is] our third choice forward," Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane told the club's official website after the match. "Today he got a chance and he did so well. He's not had many minutes so far and I was blown away by his goal."
Speaking on Vinicius, the Frenchman added: "He was good and he scored an important goal in an important game. I'm happy for him."
The victory for Real Madrid means it now sits one point ahead of Barcelona in the La Liga table with 12 games to play.
Zidane's side now faces Real Betis on Sunday March 8, while Barca takes on Real Sociedad on March 7.
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