Sport

Vinicius is a shadow of the player who competed for the Ballon d’Or

The idea was to boost Vinicius Junior’s confidence. While Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham have both taken penalties for Real Madrid this season, the Brazilian was handed the ball to open the scoring against Valencia on Saturday. Instead, Giorgi Mamardashvili produced a save to further highlight Vinicius’ recent struggles.

Only four days beforehand, Carlo Ancelotti and Vinicius were spotted arguing on the touchline during the 4-4 draw with Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey. Ancelotti admitted afterwards that he’d been unhappy with the winger’s defensive work rate. “After that conversation, Vini upped the tempo and unleashed all his quality,” said the Italian.

While Vinicius Junior was Real Madrid’s primary difference-maker as they won a La Liga and Champions League double, he is now failing to find a clear role for himself in a team that is increasingly moulded around Mbappe. Bellingham has adapted since the arrival of the Frenchman last summer. Vinicius, however, has not.

It was always a bit of a conundrum how Ancelotti would fit Mbappe and Vinicius into the same forward line. While the pair are different players, they both want to start on the left side before coming inside to get into the final third. Mbappe can play centrally, but he is most effective when he has a starting position on the wing.

Ancelotti has used Mbappe and Vinicius as a front two at times this season, deploying the pair as split strikers. However, this leaves no room in the lineup for Rodrygo who is a match-winner in his own right. This has led Ancelotti to stick with a front three of Vinicius, Mbappe and Rodrygo in which each attacker wants to play on the left.

Mbappe’s pace and natural ability to get in behind means he has priority when using pockets of space on the left side to start his runs. This has pushed Vinicius deeper into the midfield where he is finding it more difficult to have an impact on matches. Indeed, the 24-year-old has scored just once in his last five games despite Real Madrid scoring 10 times as a team.

Of course, Real Madrid have bigger issues than just the form of their Brazilian winger. Defensively, Los Blancos are increasingly vulnerable at the back. Valencia exposed these issues by winning at the Bernabeu on Saturday after Leganes and Real Sociedad combined to score six goals in Real Madrid’s previous two matches.

Injuries have hit Real Madrid hard. Dani Carvajal is out until the end of the season with Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy still sidelined. Dani Ceballos’ absence is being keenly felt in central midfield with Real Madrid lacking a rhythm builder following the retirement of Toni Kroos at the end of last season. Ceballos’ return to fitness can’t come soon enough.

Luka Modric is being asked to play every week despite being 39. The Croatian is one of the best midfielders of his generation, but is physically fading and so Real Madrid are losing more battles in the centre of the pitch. Fede Valverde can only cover so much ground on his own with Aurelien Tchouameni suspended for the Champions League visit to Arsenal on Tuesday night.

Nonetheless, it’s a problem for Real Madrid if one of their best players is no longer capable of deciding matches like he used to be. Vinicius has scored seven goals in just 10 Champions League appearances this season, but will be expected to step up against Arsenal on Tuesday with a place in the final four on the line. There’s not much evidence to suggest he will do this.