'Vinicius Jr. was invisible until the goal'- Real Madrid ace earns praise with inevitable flash of quality

Pachuca coach Guillermo Almada was lavish in his praise for Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr. following his team's 3-0 loss to Real Madrid in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final on Wednesday, calling the Brazilian the best player in the world. Vini was starting just his second game since returning from injury, but showed no rustiness as he set up Kylian Mbappe to break the deadlock, before converting from the penalty spot to put the tie to bed in the second half.

Real Madrid haven't had the best of starts to the season, but have still managed to win two trophies already, adding the Intercontinental Cup to the UEFA Super Cup they won back in August. One day before the final, Vini was presented by FIFA with The Best award, a little under two months after being snubbed for the Ballon d'Or as Rodri took home the accolade.

On Wednesday, Real Madrid might have won 3-0, but the proceedings weren't as comfortable as the scoreline reads. In the opening passages of the game, Pachuca matched Real Madrid pound for pound, but Vini, who was kept quiet in the first 36 minutes of the game, produced a moment of absolute genius to help Mbappe score his 13th goal of the season. From there on, there was only one winner.

Speaking to reporters after losing to Real Madrid, Almada analysed the game and reserved special praise for Vini. "Vinicius is the best in the world, along with Mbappe, and his level is difficult to control on a permanent basis," said Almada (h/t MARCA). "Until the goal, Vinicius did not appear but then, in a second, he did that and, that type of player is difficult to control for 90 minutes."

Real Madrid play their final game of the calendar year on Sunday, December 22, at the Santiago Bernabeu, in which they will welcome a struggling Sevilla side. Los Blancos are currently in third place on the LaLiga table, just one point behind Barcelona albeit with a game in hand.