Media reports revealed that Brazilian star Vinicius Junior asked his teammate Valverde to take the penalty awarded to Real Madrid during the second half of the team's match against Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

Spanish radio 'COPE' explained that the match cameras captured Vinicius handing the ball to Valverde to take the penalty, but the latter refused, so Vinicius stepped up to take it, and City's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved it.

Vinicius faced some boos from the Spanish fans in the stadium after missing the penalty, before he apologized to the fans, turning the boos into cheers and applause in appreciation of the Brazilian.

Valverde scored a historic hat-trick for Real Madrid during the match, reaching his fourth goal against Manchester City in the Champions League, achieving his first hat-trick in his European competition career.