Vinícius Júnior turns 'whistles into applause' in Madrid win

Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa backed Vinícius Júnior after the star forward was whistled by fans during the team's 2-1 win over Alavés on Tuesday, saying Vinícius had "turned the whistles into applause" with his second-half goal. Kylian Mbappé put Madrid ahead at the Bernabéu with a deflected shot, before Vinícius made it 2-0 with a superb long-range effort, and then Toni Martínez scored a consolation goal for the visitors in added time. The Bernabéu crowd voiced their frustration at Madrid's Champions League exit to Bayern Munich by whistling both Mbappé and Vinícius, while fans were also critical of substitute Eduardo Camavinga , who was sent off in Munich. "Vinícius has always made a big effort in difficult situations," Arbeloa said in his postmatch news conference. "He's carried the team on his back. We can't doubt his attitude. He doesn't hide, he's brave. He's a Madrid fan, h