La Liga: Vinicius miraculously escapes injury post horrific tackle in Madrid win

Viniacutecius Juacutenior had more than his goal to celebrate in Real Madrids 20 win over Valencia in the Spanish leagueViniacutecius also was glad to escape serious injury after a vicious foul by Gabriel Paulista in the second half which ignited a brawl and earned the Valencia defender a straight red card on ThursdayPaulista struck a hard kick at Viniacutecius legs after the Brazil forward got past him with the ball in the 72nd minute sending the Brazil forward hard to the ground Viniacutecius quickly got up and went to confront Paulista shoving him from behind as other players arrived to join the scuffleIt was a hit without the ball for no reason Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saidMadrid defender Eacuteder Militatildeo who had been taken off earlier in the match confronted Paulista as he made his way to the tunnel after being sent offWhat Paulista did wasnt correct it was a clear red card Valencia coach Voro Gonzaacutelez saidThe match was already tough and it became impossible with a player downViniacutecius scored his goal after a long run on a breakaway in the 54th two minutes after Marco Asensio had given the hosts the lead with a shot from outside the areaViniacutecius endured a tumultuous period last week after his effigy was hanged off a bridge in a hate attack before Madrids game against city rival Atletico Madrid in the Copa del ReyWe have to protect Viniacutecius a bit Courtois saidHe is always dribbling and the defenders dont like that He is always getting hit They think he is provoking them but its his way of playing We need this Vini to destabilize the opposing defenseThursdays win put Madrid back within five points of league leader Barcelona at the halfway point of the season The Catalan club won 21 at Real Betis on WednesdayAlso readKarim Benzema leads Madrid against Barcelona in Super Cup finalBoth games were postponed from January because of the teams participation in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia where Madrid beat Valencia in the semifinals after a penalty shootout before losing to Barcelona in the finalMadrid which hadnt won in two matches in all competitions lost two of its key players because of injuries Militatildeo had to be replaced in the first half and Karim Benzema early in the secondMadrid has one last league game at Mallorca on Sunday before traveling to Morocco to play in FIFAs Club World Cup next week when it will seek a recordextending eight titleIt was Valencias first game without coach Gennaro Gattuso whose contract was terminated by mutual agreement amid the teams poor run Gonzaacutelez a club director who often acts as an interim manager is expected to stay in charge until the end of the seasonValencia has won only one of its last 11 league games and is one point from the relegation zone Its only two wins this year came in the Copa del Rey though it failed to get past the quarterfinalsDefender Antonio Ruumldiger thought he had put Madrid ahead with a header off a corner kick three minutes into firsthalf stoppage time but the goal was disallowed after video review saw a foul by Benzema away from the ballMadrid the defending league champion is six points in front of thirdplace Real SociedadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever