Real Madrid did not seem to miss Vinicius Junior much against Brest in their latest Champions League group phase match, and they dealt well in the match in which he was absent by suspension. For the knockout phase, however, Carlo Ancelotti will be desperate to have him back, with a potential collision with Manchester City on the horizon.
Vinicius missed three of the last four games of Real Madrid because of the suspension, in which Real Madrid scored 11 goals and only admitted once, albeit against opposition with fewer resources. He was against Brest because of picking up three bookings, the most recent against RB Salzburg.
As indicated by Cadena Ser, however, a shift in the UEFA rules to discipline means that Ancelotti will encourage the Brazilian to maintain his cool in their play-off round. After receiving three bookings, a prohibition of one match is distributed, but the second suspension comes after only two yellow cards. A final prohibition requires that only one booking is distributed.
If Real Madrid has to win the Champions League, they still have to play 9 games. Since Vinicius is currently a booking of a booking this season every 2.6 games, he will have to curb his discipline to prevent problems in the line and possibly miss large collisions. The majority of his bookings this season was for deviating opinions, while his red card against Valencia was a reaction from the ball.
In addition to Vinicius, Bellingham also has two bookings in the knockout phases. He is only one way of a ban. Once the play-off round is completed, yellow cards are swept for the quarterfinals and then again for the semi-final. That could be a welcome postponement for Carlo Ancelotti by the time it rolls around in March for the round of 16.
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