Vinicius Jr and the six Real Madrid players at risk of Champions League suspension against Arsenal

Evening Standard

·7. April 2025

Vinicius Jr and the six Real Madrid players at risk of Champions League suspension against Arsenal

Discipline issues won’t help Carlo Ancelotti’s growing selection crisis

No less than six Real Madrid players are set for Champions League suspensions should they be booked in Tuesday night’s quarter-final first-leg tie against Arsenal.

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Madrid players have been shown more yellow cards than any other team in the tournament, copping 33 bookings in just 12 matches.

With a bloated injury list, Carlo Ancelotti is already facing something of a selection crisis. Yellow card suspensions would be unhelpful to his Champions League aspirations, and he stands to lose some of his most experienced players for the second leg.

But the Italian cannot complain too much as he himself is also facing suspension having been booked twice. His domestic discipline record is no better, as he is set to watch Madrid’s next La Liga tie away to Alaves from the stands after picking up a booking in Saturday’s home loss to Valencia.

Kylian Mbappe is not among those facing suspension

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Champions League rules stipulate that players will be suspended for a match after receiving three bookings, and “any subsequent suspension odd-numbered caution” (i.e. a fifth, seventh, or ninth booking) will result in a further one-match ban. Slates are wiped clean after the quarter-finals, though.

As such, Vinicius Jr and Lucas Vazquez, who boast four yellows apiece thus far in the campaign, will miss the second leg should they be shown a fifth booking on Tuesday night. Vinicius is Madrid’s joint-top goalscorer in the Champions League this campaign, with seven goals in ten appearances.

His younger countryman and fellow winger Endrick is also facing suspension despite playing just 111 minutes in the Champions League this season. He was shown a yellow card in away losses to Lille and Liverpool.

Real’s injury crisis is focused largely on the back line, where Ancelotti is missing Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Dani Ceballos, and Eder Militao. The pressure, then, will be on centre-backs Eduardo Camavinga and former Chelsea man Antonio Rudiger to keep out of trouble on Tuesday, as both will be suspended with a booking.

Also at risk is veteran midfielder Luka Modric. The 39-year-old is one of just three players to have appeared in all 12 of Real’s Champions League ties this year, starting six times and seeing two yellow cards.