'That's how I always did it on Copacabana beach!' - Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr brutally trolls Almeria over controversial 'handball' goal in fraught La Liga clash

The Samba star helped his La Liga employers to recover from falling two goals down at Santiago Bernabeu to their rock-bottom opponents. His effort, which came after Jude Bellingham had converted from the penalty spot, helped to level matters on the day.

Dani Carvajal snatched a 99th-minute winner for Real – making club history in the process – but it is Vinicius’ goal that has sparked the most controversy. Almeria claim that the South American bundled home with his arm – meaning that said effort should have been ruled out.

Vinicius is not having that and has shared a video of his own, in which the ball appears to come off his shoulder. He says that is a trick he picked up when playing on the beaches of Brazil, with every part of the body used to keep the ball off the ground and hit the target. He has said: “Great goal!!! This is how I always did it on Copacabana beach.”

Vinicius, who is now fully recovered from the injury that he picked up back in November, has registered four goals through his last three appearances for Real. He bagged a hat-trick against Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final and has helped them to cement their standing one point behind Girona in La Liga – while still boasting a game in hand.