Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior Scoops February Award
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From a La Liga point of view, it's safe to say that February was a bit of a whirlwind month for Real Madrid.
The team won their first three games of the month and managed to reclaim top spot from Barcelona in the process. However, they then immediately surrendered that advantage with a defeat to Osasuna in the final game of February, to really dent what was looking like the perfect month.
One thing that stayed consistent throughout the month were the performances of Vinicius. Despite missing the win at Valencia through suspension, the Brazilian forward managed to score four goals in just three appearances.
Vinicius Jr. Makes February Team of the Month
The first goal was an absolutely sublime effort in the win over Rayo Vallecano, where he dribbled into the box, weaved past multiple challenges, and curled the ball into the top corner, despite minimal backlift.
Admittedly, the two goals against Sociedad were from the penalty spot, but he still stepped up in the absence of Kylian Mbappe, who missed the game. There is always pressure to score a penalty at the Bernabeu.
Then, in the defeat to Osasuna, he showed great goalscoring instinct to get on the end of Federico Valverde's ball, after superb work from the Uruguayan. Those goals can often be the most important - Mbappe is often criticised, rightly or wrongly, for not getting in the positions to score those types of goals.
Furthermore, this goal was just days after the racial abuse he suffered in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off tie away to Benfica. It shows just how strong mentally he continues to be throughout it all.
As a result of this good form, the Brazilian has been named in the SofaScore Team of the Month for February, with a rating average of 8.30 - his ratings for each game were: 8.1, 8.5, and 8.3, respectively. A reminder that these ratings are based on an algorithm, there aren't humans sitting there deciding he deserves this rating or that rating.
Let's hope for more of the same in March, starting from the game at home to Getafe on Monday evening. With the suggestion that Mbappe is set to be out of action for a couple of weeks, Alvaro Arbeloa's side are going to need Vinicius to step up and be at his spellbinding best to make sure they keep pace with league leaders Barcelona. Let's see.
Tom Vinall is a sports writer covering Real Madrid On SI. Previously, he had worked at FanSided as both a contributor and site expert, covering the likes of Spurs and Bayern Munich. He has also previously written for Transfer News Live. Tom was born and lives in Bristol, South West England, and loves to listen to music as well as learning Spanish.
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