A goal from Vinícius Junior against Leipzig allowed Real Madrid to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, after a "poor match," as acknowledged by Carlo Ancelotti himself, in which the Brazilian once again stirred controversy by pushing Willi Orban's neck in an off-the-ball incident that the referee penalized with a yellow card.

Leipzig players called for further punishment during and after the match, as did the club itself with an ironic message on its social media channels after the incident.

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"Vinícius Junior anti-sportingly grabs Willi Orban by the neck with both hands. The referee only sanctions this with a yellow card... Interesting," wrote the German club.

The incident, in the 54th minute, could have changed the game if Italian referee Davide Massa had shown 'Vini' a red card.

Shortly after the referee signaled a foul that the Real Madrid '7' protested, Vinícius hit Orban from behind in the center of the field with the ball away from the Leipzig defender's boots. Vinícius criticized his fall and, as he got up, they confronted each other briefly before 'Vini' pushed him, placing his hands on the Leipzig defender's neck, who remained on the ground for several minutes.

A push for which the German players demanded a red card for 'Vini', but which remained a yellow, and 11 minutes later it was the Brazilian who put the score at 1-0 after a counterattack where he finished a run from Jude Bellingham from his own half. A goal that Vinícius celebrated by emulating Cristiano Ronaldo, sitting on the advertising that surrounds the field with his arms outstretched.

Once again, Vinícius was key. After his brace in Valencia, in a tense match due to racist incidents from the previous season, which allowed Real Madrid to draw 2-2, his goal against Leipzig secured Real Madrid's qualification for the Champions League quarter-finals, confirming the 0-1 from the first leg with the 1-1 from the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.

In the words of German coach Marco Rose, the German team "deserved something more" in the tie but left empty-handed. In the mixed zone after the match, the German players pointed to Vinícius's action with Orban as deserving a red card.

"For Orban, the action is a red card. We can talk a lot now, but it won't help us. We're out of the Champions League, and we have to congratulate Real Madrid, but there are also many Real Madrid players who have admitted to us that they were very lucky," said David Raum.

"Despite receiving a yellow card, he should have been sent off for some tackles he made earlier. The referee spoke to us a little differently than to the Real Madrid players. I don't know why; we are also nice and funny guys," he added.

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Benjamin Henrichs, on the other hand, was more assertive in his statements. "We have seen the images in the dressing room, and it is clear that it is a red card. There is no need to lie. If it were the other way around and one of us pushed a Real Madrid player and he fell to the ground, it would surely be a red card. It is also bad luck that Vinícius scored the goal afterward," he asserted.

A controversial action that, from the other side, according to Carlo Ancelotti, was not so controversial, while also praising Vinícius's performance. "I saw the goal, which was spectacular. Then, in that clash, I think he pushed a little hard, and it didn't seem like a red to me," he stated.

Indeed, the Brazilian once again proved to be pivotal for his team. In the Champions League, he has three goals and three assists in five matches, but he will enter the quarter-finals warned of suspension after receiving two yellow cards in the tie against Leipzig.