Kyle Walker hugs Vinicius Junior after Real Madrid draw

Kyle Walker and Vinicius Junior were involved in a titanic struggle during the first leg of Man City’s Champions League semi-final last week. Walker has revealed he warned Vinicius Junior not to attempt a rainbow flick against him again when he embraced the Real Madrid star after the final whistle. The pair were involved in a titanic duel at the Bernabeu which saw the England defender just about hold his own against one of the most devastating wingers in world football on current form. Although the Brazil international opened the scoring with a sensational effort, Walker fared better than many right-backs who have come up against the 22-year-old recently. Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser has put City in the box seat ahead of tomorrow night’s return fixture, but whoever comes out on top in the tussle between Walker and Vinicius will go a long way to determining which side progresses to the final next month in Istanbul. Asked why he hugged his opponent last week, Walker said: ‘I went to hug him because he tried to rainbow me, so it was like ‘please don’t try that again’. He added that he respects Vinicius for taking Real Madrid to the Champions League, but before the whistle it is ‘dog eat dog’. Walker also said that Vinicius has been accused of deliberately provoking opposition players but insists his outrageous display of skill last week wasn’t an example of showboating. He said: ‘I wouldn’t say he’s a provocative player, he’s a very good player, he does what he has to to get his side over the line. I try not to get involved if someone is trash talking, I have been through things in my life that are more difficult than people trying to get a reaction on me. People going down and asking for yellow cards is part and parcel of the game.’