Where has the decisive Vinicius disappeared to? A question whose answer lies with Modric and Kroos!
Is this true?
The departures of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos appear to have left a clear void in the Real Madrid system, particularly in the way Vinicius Junior was helped to exploit his pace and move into the right spaces on the pitch.
Contributors to the "Bar Cinquè Vlaky" programme on "Cadena SER" radio pointed out that the Brazilian winger once fed off the pair in midfield. Modric and Kroos would direct his movements and supply the balls that let him take on defenders and burst in behind the lines.
Eloy Lizana explained that Vinicius found in Modric and Kroos two players capable of reading his runs and picking him out with the right pass, which made him look far more influential over the past few years.
Lizana would love to hear Modric and Kroos assess the current Madrid midfield. What, he wonders, would the pair make of it if they were sitting off the pitch watching the team now?
According to the programme's analysts, the drop in Vinicius's impact does not fall on the player alone. It also stems from how the team builds its play, with nobody left to slide the ball quickly and accurately into the spaces the Brazilian thrives on.
The criticism comes as Real Madrid struggle for fluency in midfield. Pace in the front line counts for little if the runners never get the support and the passes from behind them.
By that reading, Jose Mourinho's task goes beyond restoring the best version of Vinicius. He must also find a system that hands the winger the same conditions that once helped him make the difference, back when he leaned on the passes of Modric and Kroos and their intelligent movement.
Guler out of position and Bernardo Silva on the bench
Arda Guler, in Lizana's view, is not playing in his natural position, and that blunts his influence on games. Bernardo Silva is getting few minutes despite the experience and the ability to sharpen the build-up. Ceballos, too, is barely getting a look-in.
Lizana wants the observations Mourinho makes in his press conferences to show up in his tactical decisions, not stop at verbal criticism.
Real Madrid, he said, gave Vinicius 8 matches to rediscover his level. So why has Bernardo Silva not had a similar run, even four matches in a row?
The club failed to sign Rodri or Dominik Szoboszlai in the summer, he added, yet they have Bernardo Silva on the bench, a player who can offer fresh solutions in midfield, especially with the team's attacks lacking fluency.
During the derby, Lizana took aim at Mourinho for bringing on Eduardo Camavinga after Real Madrid's first substitution. The player's return, he argued, did nothing to solve the problems that surfaced against Atletico Madrid.
