The battle with Diomande settled: storm of criticism hits Vinicius after the Greece clash
A new lacklustre showing
Vinicius Junior's struggles rumble on. Real Madrid's Brazilian star copped another round of criticism tonight.
The winger started Real Madrid's Champions League clash with AEK Athens, but once more failed to deliver.
Madrid nearly came unstuck in Greece, trailing 2-1 with a quarter of an hour left. Then Los Blancos rediscovered their storied European spirit to complete a thrilling comeback and win 3-2.
Vinicius Junior, though, was under enormous pressure. After a four-match La Liga ban, head coach Jose Mourinho handed him a start tonight, and he squandered the chance.
Deployed on the left wing, which pushed Yan Diomande over to the right, the former Flamengo man never convinced in this clash.
Diomande has been shining in recent matches on the left, so Vinicius needed to stake his claim in Athens. He made no difference whatsoever. That stung all the more because, unlike his teammates, he had enjoyed some rest after sitting out the recent league fixtures.
He could not conjure any danger, and his dribbling lacked precision.
Is Real Madrid better without Vinicius?
Naturally, the reaction in Spain was brutal towards the Brazilian.
The newspaper "AS" reported that "his performance was poor in the first half, and in the second half he tried, but he did not succeed. At the moment, Diomande is well ahead of him in the starting line-up."
Jorge Valdano, the former Real Madrid player usually so measured in his comments, tore into the Brazilian on a Movistar programme. "The word acceptable does not apply to a player like Vinicius," he said. "He made little effort, and he rarely succeeded."
He went on: "He made only one good move. We cannot remember anything of note from his match tonight. For a player who has maintained this exceptional level for a long time, that is very little. This lacklustre performance by Vinicius will not help him reclaim the place that Diomande has secured."
Suspension rules Vinicius out against Valencia this week, and he no longer counts as a key man in Mourinho's ideal line-up. The newspaper "Marca" notes that "it may seem easy to point the finger at Vinicius and hold him responsible for Real Madrid's problems, but it is no coincidence that Mourinho's team drops in level when the Brazilian is on the pitch."
The paper also flagged his lack of defensive commitment.
One thing is now clear. Vinicius is stuck in a slump he cannot easily shake, and that leaves him in a very tricky spot when he returns from suspension. He is likely to find himself on the bench.
