Mourinho backs Vinícius despite Real Madrid competition
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Ghanaiantimes
José Mourinho reaffirms that performance, not status, determines players’ places at Real Madrid, as Vinícius Júnior returns to the Champions League. The Portuguese manager nevertheless considers it too early to make the Spanish club favourites for the competition, according to Ghanaiantimes.
Real Madrid are preparing Vinícius Júnior’s return to the starting XI for Wednesday 21 October’s Champions League match against RB Leipzig. The Brazilian forward is available in Europe despite a four-match suspension in La Liga, Ghanaiantimes reports.
José Mourinho has maintained his confidence in Vinícius despite a difficult spell of form: the Brazilian has scored only once in all competitions this season. Competition is coming notably from Yan Diomandé, the club’s record summer signing. Vinícius was substituted in the 58th minute during the match against Roma, where his replacement Endrick helped secure a 4-3 victory.
Real Madrid have won their last two Champions League matches, against Inter Milan and Roma. Mourinho has nevertheless set qualification for the knockout stage as the first objective, followed by avoiding the play-offs. In La Liga, his team are six points behind Barcelona before Sunday’s Clásico at Camp Nou.
The Portuguese manager had already said that nobody was untouchable at Real Madrid, as recalled in the article published on 19 October about Real Madrid’s starting players. Vinícius’s starting place against Leipzig was also announced on the same day in an article about the Champions League match against Leipzig.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
