Vinicius Junior celebrates vs Real Zaragoza, Copa del Rey, 2019-20Getty

'Vinicius is capable of so much more' – Carvajal fires warning to Real Madrid's rivals

Real Madrid full-back Dani Carvajal has asserted that Vinicius Junior is “capable of so much more” after the young Brazilian talent found the back of the net as part of a complete performance in Wednesday evening's 4-0 Copa del Rey thrashing of Real Zaragoza.

The Spanish capital side had four different scorers on the night – although Luka Jovic's dry spell did continue – with Raphael Varane, Lucas Vazquez and Karim Benzema all on target as Los Blancos strolled into the next round.

Vinicius was the player to put the game beyond doubt after bagging the visitors' third in the second half, finishing neatly past Alvaro Raton after being teed up by James Rodriguez, and Carvajal believes that the 19-year-old has plenty more to give.

Article continues below

“I see him every day, he's capable of doing that and so much more,” Carvajal told Mediaset after the match. “Give him time to gain more confidence and he'll keep scoring in the games to come.”

Head coach Zinedine Zidane echoed the sentiments of his right-back but added that he was more impressed by the defensive side of his game after seeing his players work as a unit to keep the Segunda Division side from producing any real danger.

“It's clear that it's a job he has to do, just like everyone else,” the French boss said in his post-match press conference. “And we're all doing that better than before. Keeping a clean sheet is very good and it's important to attack later.”

With Madrid currently sitting at the head of La Liga, Blancos fans will believe their side is in with a good chance of securing a domestic treble, having already won the Supercopa de Espana and reaching the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.

Carvajal, too, is eyeing silverware, adding: “We have three matches left to be in the final and we are going for it.”

First up, however, is a derby date with cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid - Diego Simeone's side are due to arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu for the blockbuster clash on Saturday - and Carvajal appreciates the importance of concentrating on one match at a time.

“[We'll take it] step by step,” he said. “On Saturday there's an important match and we want to keep this [momentum] going. It's always a special match.”

Advertisement