Ancelotti believes Vinicius Jr is the best in the world

Carlo Ancelotti praised Vinicius Junior as “the best player in the world” following Real Madrid’s elimination of Liverpool from the Champions League.

Throughout the round of 16 match against Liverpool, Vinicius Jr., the Brazilian winger, performed remarkably in both legs, contributing to the Reds’ 6-2 aggregate loss. He scored twice in the first leg at Anfield and provided the match-winning assist to Karim Benzema in the second leg’s 78th minute.

After Madrid’s 1-0 win at Santiago Bernabeu, Ancelotti, the manager, singled out Vinicius for praise and declared that the 22-year-old had reached the pinnacle of the sport.

Vinicius Jr. has been one of the most effective players of Real Madrid in the last few seasons.

The Italian said: “For me, he is (the best player in the world). He has created danger every time he’s tried to go forward.”

In the last three seasons of the UEFA Champions League, only two players have achieved both scoring and assisting ten or more goals: Vinícius Júnior (13 goals and 10 assists) and Kylian Mbappé (21 goals and 11 assists).

Real will now face one of Bayern Munich, Benfica, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan or Napoli in the last eight of the Champions League.

Ancelotti added: “I don’t have any preferences (for the next round). The objective is to win the Champions League, and to do that you have to get past the quarter-finals, the semi-final and the final.

“I’m happy, Italian football has three teams in the quarter-finals. It’s a very positive sign for Italian football.”