Vinicius Junior has lost his magic. The youngster started on the bench against Real Valladolid and didn’t impress during his time on the pitch in the second half.
Most of the time, Real Madrid’s attacks stopped when the ball got to him on the right wing.
Having played on the left for almost his entire life, Vinicius is now playing out of position and it’s doing him no good.
Being moved around different positions may help the Brazilian in the long run, but right now it’s not providing him with a platform to perform consistently.
It also looks like Zinedine Zidane has lost confidence in the 19-year-old.
Vinicius started against Celta Vigo last weekend but he’s now been relegated to the bench behind the likes of Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez.
“Vinicius came on… The second half was worse for us,” Zidane said in his press conference after the draw with Valladolid.
However, Vinicius’ young age is one of the positives of the situation. He’ll want to come back stronger and shine again.
Vinicius has two problems: one tactical and one emotional.
The tactical problem depends on Zidane, who continues to use him on the right.
The emotional problem can be solved by Vinicius himself by producing a good assist or score a goal and the smile, the plaudits and his coach’s support will return.