MADRID — Vinicius Júnior reached 100 goals for Real Madrid on Wednesday in the team’s 5-1 victory over Salzburg, securing a playoff spot after a slow start in the Champions League.
The Brazilian scored his 99th and 100th goals, according to UEFA, placing him in third place among his country’s top scorers in the Champions League with 28 in the competition. Neymar leads with 43, followed by Kaká with 30.
The Merengue team reported that Vinicius had reached 101 goals for the club. Spanish media indicated that the discrepancy dates back to a goal in La Liga that many considered an own goal and therefore should not count as scored by the South American forward.
“I am very happy to be able to reach 100 goals with this shirt. Now I am only three behind Ronaldo, the Brazilian with the most goals for Madrid. I hope I can continue like this and score many goals to mark an era in this team, which is my dream,” Vinicius declared. “The goals are making me a better player. At first here I didn’t score many goals, but now I can have a bad game but still score two goals, and it’s a good habit!”
Madrid, the defending champion and top title winner with 15, had lost three of its first six games in the new Champions League format and was at risk of elimination.
The victory moved Madrid to 16th place in the 36-team league stage of the competition.
Rodrygo also scored twice for the Merengue team, and Kylian Mbappé added another goal after a mistake by Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich.
Brazilian Rodrygo has scored five goals in his last four games, while Vinicius has three in his two most recent games. Mbappé also scored five goals in his last four games.
Jude Bellingham set up one of Vinicius’ goals with a clever backheel.
The white team next visits the French club Brest.