Vinicius Junior started against Betis at Benito Villamarín and has won the position by far. He does it at an ideal moment for him, as he seems to have won the symbolic and metaphorical pulse that he maintained with Mbappé. The ‘no’ of PSG to the sale of the Frenchman leaves the door open for Vinicius one more season to take on a star role in international football at the hands of Madrid. And they dispel with a stroke the rumors of exchange that there was with Mbappé himself …
The Brazilian was the great winner of the match against the Seville team (with a 0-1 victory for Madrid). It was his first test of the season as a starter and he showed that he is a differential player. He is currently vital in Ancelotti’s new Madrid and is ahead of Hazard. The ‘top scorer’ of Real Madrid showed all the quality that he treasures and with his verticality he made the difference. It was correct in the pressure, only Casemiro and Valverde recovered more balls, and of a robbery of his in the center of the field arose the clearest occasion of the first part, when he grabbed the ball and after overflowing the left wing he gave a pass back to Benzema, who was very close to overtaking Madrid. He was also the protagonist in the only goal of the match, starting the play that allowed Benzema to assist Carvajal.
The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti to the Madrid bench has been a mental blow for several Madrid footballers. One of these cases is that of Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian is living his best moment since he signed for the white club. The season has started exactly as requested, vertically and with a goal. It is true that against Betis he did not take any shots on goal, but he sacrificed himself in defensive tasks and was very present in the team’s game.In the match against Levante he was the most outstanding player and without his double, the Madrid team would not have managed to take no point from the City of Valencia. However, until not long ago his situation in the team was totally different.
It is a proven fact that Vinicius never came to dissuade Zidane. The French coach had other preferences and the Brazilian never convinced him as a footballer. Despite this, in the final stretch of last year, with all the casualties that the team accumulated, the Frenchman had to bet on the young attacker, since at the end of the day he was the most destabilizing footballer on the team. The international with Brazil responded positively and achieved good performances. His best match as a Madrid player was under the French coach in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Liverpool, where he scored a double in the Whites’ 3-1 victory.
The Brazilian has earned a place in Ancelotti’s starting lineup based on goals, intensity and play. He has shown that he is hungry for football and wants to be more important in the team. For now, everything indicates that Hazard, who was a substitute against Betis, has won the position. The Belgian came in in the 78th minute to replace Vinicius himself. He did not intervene much in the game and when he did it was to make security passes. Even so, he had a clear opportunity to sentence the game, but Rui Silva guessed his intentions and avoided the goal. Ancelotti in the post-match press conference assured that he does not have a starter on the left wing and that Vinicius: “He can start or be on the bench, like Hazard. I evaluated that his streak was good, but Hazard did well when he entered “. For now, the Brazilian is on the right track and only time will tell if he ends up becoming a fixture in the Italian coach’s line-ups. Mbappé will not be an obstacle for him … at least, this season.
