Alvaro Arbeloa makes Vinicius Junior promise amid fan revolt

Real Madrid returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over Levante, although the performance was far from convincing. They were easily dealt with in the first half, but two goals in seven minutes in the second ensured an important victory for Los Blancos.

As per Marca, head coach Alvaro Arbeloa delivered his assessment of the match. He spoke on the importance of the victory, as well as how he changed things around at half time to evoke a better performance in the second half.

“It was a fundamental victory. We knew where we came from, from a week that was not easy, which was not easy to digest. How important the three points were. We won in front of our fans, and now let’s think about Tuesday.

“We had to give the ball more speed. Levante waited for us at the back and it will be the tonic in the matches, Champions League and La Liga. If we want to hurt teams that stand like this we have to play faster, have more runs… A lot of mobility. You have to do many things, not just one. And you have to have a lot of patience. We will have many games of wear and tear where we will have to work in the first half and finish it in the second.”

One of the novelties of the match was the regular boos aimed at Real Madrid players, with Vinicius Junior being the most targeted. Arbeloa spoke on this, as he made it clear that the supporters are entitled to make their feelings known.

“I don’t think they whistle every game, I respect this crowd a lot because the demand they put makes the players give their best. Let no one forget what Vini has done here, he has put the team on his back and has given us titles. He is one of us and will continue to be so for a long time.

“You know that I have always respected the Bernabeu a lot. I’ve also been whistled a lot and what makes us great is the demands of this club and we always have to take it well because they know that we can give much more and be at the level of Real Madrid. We have to give them much more and especially this week.”

Arbeloa: I want my players to look for Vinicius

Despite this, Arbeloa firmly believes that Vinicius will soon return to his best level.

“I’m going to work to recover the best Vinicius. I’m going to demand my players to look for him. He’s not afraid, he’s got character, he’s defended this club tooth and nail, he’s one of the most unbalanced players if not the most in the world. He reflects what a Real Madrid player is. What this player has done as a child at Real Madrid has not been done by many. He’s going to give us a lot of titles, as he’s already done.”