Vinicius Junior Explains Anger After Being Substituted Against Roma

Vinicius Junior has admitted he was angry at being taken off in Real Madrid's 4-3 Champions League win over AS Roma, but said the substitutions turned the game.

Madrid were 3-1 down at the Stadio Olimpico, and Vinicius was having a poor night. He gave the ball away in the build-up to Roma's second goal, and just before the hour mark manager Jose Mourinho took him off in a double change that brought on Endrick and Arda Guler. The move worked. Endrick scored to start a seven-minute comeback, and fellow substitute Carlos Espi also found the net. Antonio Rudiger then headed the winner in the 90th minute.

After the game, the 26-year-old did not hide how he felt. "It's only natural for me to be angry when I'm substituted, because I always want to play every minute, to be at my best and help the team, and today that wasn't possible," he told reporters. "In the end, the substitutions helped us. They changed the game."

He was quick to praise the players who replaced him. "Endrick came on and did really well. He changed the momentum and scored a goal. He was the best player in the second half. And Carlos [Espi], who always comes on for only a few minutes. They're helping us a lot."

Mourinho defended his player while explaining the decision. "It was tough for Vini," he said. "Vini lost a ball he shouldn't have lost. But that's how it goes. I make mistakes, too. It's a shame that this happened, just as he was growing and finding happiness again."

The Madrid boss said there was no bad feeling afterwards. "It's natural for him not to be happy. Frustration is normal. But after the match, he was very happy about the win."

Vinicius also spoke about the whistles he often gets from sections of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd. "The booing certainly doesn't help me, but the fans pay for their tickets and they can say whatever they want," he said.

"But the best thing would be for them to support us because we play better when the fans are behind us. Me, Kylian [Mbappe], Jude [Bellingham], all of us. But the fans have every right to do it. And I think they find it easier to boo me because they feel I've been here longer and I'm one of the captains. But I'd rather they boo me than one of our young players."

He has scored 129 goals in 385 games for the club since arriving as a teenager, and promised to find his best form again. That comeback will have to wait in La Liga, though. He was handed a four-match ban just hours before the game in Rome.