“Hopefully the 16th will come. We’re ready for that. It’s our competition.”
That was Vinícius Júnior speaking to Real Madrid’s own media channels on 7 September, on the eve of the club’s Champions League opener against Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu. The forward, who scored in Real Madrid’s last two European finals, guaranteed a different campaign after quarter-final exits in each of the last two seasons.
A week later his own manager did not sound quite so ready.
“He’s lacking that top-level performance”
Speaking before the LaLiga trip to Elche on 14 September, José Mourinho was asked how he sees Vinicius. The answer read as a public reminder rather than an endorsement.
Read also: 'Enough is enough': Manchester United Muslim supporters call for Ratcliffe and Glazers to quit
“The best version of him is scoring goals,” Mourinho told reporters.
His memory of the “best version” jumped to a specific away trip in the previous Champions League.
“There’s the Vinicius who arrived in Lisbon last season, and in close matches, especially in the two knockout rounds, he gets one chance, scores a goal, and that’s it.”
“He’s lacking that top-level performance lately, but I’m happy with him.”
Read also: Lamine Yamal drops bold six-Ballon d’Or ambition in defiant Lionel Messi message
Mourinho, who returned to the Real Madrid bench on a three-year deal in June, also reached for a Portuguese proverb about people only throwing stones at the trees that bear fruit.
The numbers behind the debate
Vinicius has one goal in eight competitive matches this season, with three assists and one penalty won across 652 minutes. He is the fifth-highest scorer at his own club.
The player himself acknowledged the finishing problem in an Instagram post on 17 September.
“The goals will come back. I can’t keep missing this many,” he wrote.
Read also: Ferrari's pace isn't the problem, Rosberg says, as Vasseur pushes for a clean Baku weekend
Kylian Mbappé, meanwhile, has eight goals in seven matches and has become Mourinho’s first-choice attacker.
Diomande and a club-record €125m problem
The Brazilian’s other headache is 19 years old and cost a club-record fee. Yan Diomande arrived from RB Leipzig in early August on a seven-year contract, for a guaranteed €125m plus up to €15m in bonuses.
The Ivory Coast winger plays on Vinicius’s flank and has been used as an impact substitute. At the Metropolitano on Sunday he was the man Mourinho called on when he took Vinicius off in the 54th minute, and in roughly 43 minutes on the pitch he completed four dribbles and created a scoring chance. It was Vinicius’s fourth consecutive early substitution.
Real Madrid trail Barcelona by five points after the 2-1 derby defeat.
Read also: Bad news for Arsenal as star defender suffers latest setback
The international break has paused the argument. Real Madrid resume LaLiga against Villarreal on 10 October, and play their second Champions League league phase match, away to Roma, four days later.
Read also: Kylian Mbappe’s Nike exit sparks huge new move as On shares surge
