In the 26th minute of this evening’s Champions League tie between Real Madrid and Liverpool, the Reds made a costly error as they left Toni Kroos with time and space on the ball.
The midfield maestro punished the likes of Sadio Mane and Naby Keita for their oversight with a stunning long-pass in behind, which picked out a darting run forward from Vinicius Junior.
Strangely, both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Nat Phillips were both pretty close to the wonderkid but neither decided to contest the ball in the air, and later when Vinicius controlled the ball beautifully.
Toni Kroos, stop that! Stop that right now! ?
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 6, 2021
Vinícius finishes the move off strongly and Real Madrid lead! ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/w2J9ciokiI
That left the 20-year-old to drive towards goal before tucking the ball into the bottom corner with a lovely finish from just inside the box.