Champions League: Ancelotti removes Vinicius Jr as Real Madrid’s penalty taker after miss

On Monday, April 7, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti made the decision to remove Vinicius Jr as the team’s designated penalty taker following his miss in the 2-1 defeat to Valencia in La Liga last weekend.

According to Marca, Ancelotti has appointed Kylian Mbappe as the new penalty taker for the team, starting with their upcoming Champions League match against Arsenal.

Vinicius missed a crucial penalty in the Valencia game, failing to give Real Madrid an early lead as his weak shot was easily saved by goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. This miss marked Vinicius’ second penalty failure of the 2024-25 season, as he had previously missed a spot-kick in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.

Should Mbappe also miss a penalty, Jude Bellingham will be next in line to take the responsibility, according to the report.