In the Zone: Vinícius Júnior's power and glory

"You don't often see a player produce a second half like he did today," said Carlo Ancelotti. "Apart from the goals, he played with an incredible energy and intensity and personality."

The player the Real Madrid coach was praising was, of course, Vinícius Júnior, hat-trick hero of the latest stirring home comeback by the reigning European champions as they overturned a two-goal half-time deficit to beat Borussia Dortmund 5-2.

It was the 24-year-old's first UEFA Champions League treble and, for the watching UEFA technical observers David Moyes and Aitor Karanka at the Santiago Bernabéu, it was the Brazilian's direct running at the opposition which proved so thrillingly fundamental to Madrid's attacking game.

Vinícius Júnior ended the game with the most line-breaking ball carries (eight), and his attacking output rose as Madrid's intensity grew in the second half, as we will demonstrate in this analysis in the FedEx Performance Zone.

"Vinícius Júnior started to attack people 1v1 and got more joy as the game went on," explained Moyes. "He saw the room to get at people."

This is illustrated perfectly by the Madrid forward's second goal of the night, which made it 4-2. What is striking from a technical perspective is the speed shown by Madrid's No7 as he accelerates upfield with the ball at his feet, leaving Emre Can trailing in his wake.

It is worth observing how Kylian Mbappé's run preoccupies Dortmund substitute Waldemar Anton. Meanwhile, the position of Niklas Süle, the man seeking to block Vinícius Júnior's path, suggests he is concerned about the Brazilian passing him on the outside – which leaves him unable to respond as the forward cuts inside before arrowing a terrific low shot past Gregor Kobel.

"Call it old-fashioned wing play if you want – direct and aggressive," added Moyes. "It's all about getting at people."

If Ancelotti felt his team were "timid" in the first half, he saw "more intensity, more quality, more pressure on the ball" in the second, and Player of the Match Vinícius Júnior embodied this with more ball recoveries after the break (five compared to three before).

The second clip in the video offers another example of Vinícius Júnior at his high-speed best. As the observers mentioned, he increasingly found space to threaten Dortmund in the second half, and here he is in plenty of space out on the left, in a 1v1 scenario with Can.

His quick feet have the beating of Can and he then sprints beyond two more men before drilling in a low cross. Notable too is the movement of Mbappé, who again draws the attention of the visiting defenders as he attacks the front-post area.

The more Vinícius Júnior got into those 1v1 situations, the greater the headache for Dortmund. And so, exactly 143 days after his goal against them in the final at Wembley, the Brazilian punished the German side again – in quite exhilarating fashion.