Former Arsenal star, Samir Nasri, has slammed Jose Mourinho, the manager of Benfica, after the Portuguese criticized Real Madrid winger, Vinicius Junior for celebrating too much after scoring the winning goal at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Tuesday.
In a heated UEFA Champions League knockout play-off first-leg match in the Portuguese capital, Vinicius scored the first goal five minutes into the second half with a neat curling shot.
The Brazilian showed off his hard work by celebrating near the corner flag, but Mourinho was not very happy about it.
A little while after scoring the goal and celebrating, Vinicius was apparently called a racist name by Benfica’s Argentine player, Gianluca Prestianni, which caused the referee to stop the game for 10 minutes.
Mourinho, however, thought Vinicius made the home fans upset.
He told Amazon Prime, via The Guardian: “I told him (Vinicius): ‘When you score a goal like that, you just celebrate and walk back.’
But (Vinícius and Prestianni) said something else. But I don’t believe in one or the other. I want to be independent.”
However, Nasri defended Vinicius and reminded Mourinho of his Thierry Henry-like celebration on the Old Trafford sidelines when his Porto team scored the winning goal against Manchester United in a Champions League match two decades ago.
Nasri said, according to Trivela via Madrid Xtra, “Vinicius is being whistled. He scores a really good goal and gets to celebrate. Mourinho ran laps around a pitch. Once, he slid on his knees for 20 meters. He thought he was Thierry Henry as he celebrated. You [Mourinho] don’t have the right to say that.”
In the match, Vinicius’ goal was the key moment that separated the two teams before the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid on Wednesday, February 25.