Alonso defends Mbappé, Vini Jr. over penalty miss

MADRID -- Xabi Alonso defended Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior after Mbappé spurned the chance to complete a hat trick when he handed Vinícius a penalty kick in Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Valencia on Saturday.

Mbappé had already scored twice in the LaLiga game at the Santiago Bernabéu -- one of them a spot kick -- when Madrid were awarded another penalty before halftime.

He allowed Vinícius to take it, only for Valencia keeper Julen Agirrezabala to make a save, although Jude Bellingham found the net a minute later.

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The match saw Vinícius return to the Bernabéu a week after storming off the pitch when he was substituted by Alonso in El Clásico.

"[Mbappé] scored another two [goals]!" Alonso said in his postmatch news conference, when asked about the France international's decision to hand the ball to Vinícius. "That's a good average. It's another three points, and that's a good average to fight for trophies."

Mbappé -- who picked up the 2024-25 European Golden Shoe this week for his efforts last season -- has scored 13 goals in 11 LaLiga games this campaign.

"We assign the penalty takers, and Kylian is the first [taker]," Alonso said. "After that, they're decisions.

"I like them to score the penalties! It's a good opportunity to score. Kylian scored the first, we would have liked to score the second. But it's no big deal."

Vinícius issued an apology Wednesday for his reaction to being substituted in the 2-1 victory over Barcelona, although he failed to name Alonso.

Against Valencia, the Brazil forward was withdrawn in the 79th minute, alongside Mbappé, and this time shook coach Alonso's hand.

"[Vini] played a very good game," Alonso said.