Vinicius breaks his contract drought, copies Guti, and drops a contract renewal: "I was in Guti's shoes, he was better, he blew me away."

"It was one of the best assists I've ever given." Vinícius Júnior made his first appearance in the mixed zone at the Club World Cup, taking advantage of his first goal of the tournament and his superb pass for Real Madrid's second goal: a running pass that allowed Fede Valverde to calmly finish past the opposing goalkeeper. In the Real Madrid memory, Guti's backheel to Benzema at Riazor is a favorite.

"It was very good, but I was on the pitch the day of Guti's and it blew me away, I'll stick with that. Vini's was almost the same," joked Xabi Alonso, very happy with his team's performance. "You had to be mature to find the opportunity and I'm happy, now we start the interesting phase ," he said. The pressure from his players in the opening stretch of the match was surprising: "We have to be able to do it, like today, today we recovered a lot in the opponent's half and it was a great job," he insisted, acknowledging that "in some aspects Gonzalo reminds me of Raúl González ."

Vinicius was at the center of Madrid's big game, with a goal and an assist. His first goal since April 16, the night he scored against Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals. Since then, he has been at his most inconsistent, both physically and technically, for nearly two and a half months . Until that night in Philadelphia.

"He played a great game, not only because of the numbers, but also with his sacrifice and his work . He helped us play more as a team," praised the coach, once again putting the focus on the defensive collaboration of all the players, something that the Brazilian also emphasized in the mixed zone : "In today's football we have to attack with eleven and defend with eleven, it's normal . And the truth is that I'm very happy with the team's performance. We were able to control from the first minute," explained the forward.

Alonso knows that Vinicius is key to the team's system , both in attack and defense, and against Salzburg , the Brazilian offered much more in the center of attack. That's how the two goals came about. "Today I played a little more inside , but it depends on the game, how we play, and what we need. You have to do a lot of things on the pitch to play well, and right now we're playing well," explained the attacker, who recalled the heat they endured in Miami: "Playing at 3:00, the heat is killing us , but we have to get used to it because the next game will be at that time."

Now, Real Madrid will face Juventus in the round of 16, at which point "the tournament really begins," said Vinicius . "The best teams arrive and you can't fail. We failed in the first game and we can't fail anymore . Hopefully, we can continue to evolve little by little in this competition, where confidence is earned within the tournament," explained the Brazilian, who spoke about the negotiations for his renewal.

The striker has a contract until June 2027 and could sign an extension this summer. "I have two more years, but I've always said I want to stay here my entire career and make history with this team. I hope to stay here for many more years, score more goals, and win more titles."

Asked about the return of Mbappé and his partner Vinicius, Xabi Alonso asserted that "things can work out." "Vini from the outside, Kylian from the inside... it's not mutually exclusive. There's individual quality, but we need the team to function. All together, not one, one, one... We have to benefit from the team."