Vinicius Hands Solari First La Liga Win

Vinicius Junior made a key contribution off the bench as Real Madrid won 2-0 against Valladolid in Santiago Solari’s first La Liga game in charge on Saturday. After taking over from sacked manager Julen Lopetegui earlier this week, he evoked Real to a comfortable 4-0 win over tiny Melilla in the Copa del Rey.

However, Saturday represented the former midfielder’s first league match in charge of Los Blancos and in the 83rd-minute an own goal created by Vinicius helped ensure a positive start despite some anxious moments.

With less than 10 minutes to play, the Flamengo youth product jinked inside the box with a quick turn of pace and fired a hard cross off the body of a defender before seeing the ball beat Valladolid goalkeeper Jordi Masip to the near post.m

Madrid then sealed the points minutes later when, after Karim Benzema was brought down on the edge of the box, Sergio Ramos coolly chipped home from the spot.

The win gives Real 17 points from 11 matches, moving them up to sixth in the La Liga table 6 points behind arch rivals Barcelona pending their game against Rayo Vallecano.