MADRID
\nMany Real Madrid fans were disappointed when the club extended Vinicius Junior\u2019s contract this summer, amid speculation he might depart for Arsenal.
\nThe Brazilian remains one of the key players of the modern Madrid era, having scored the winning goal in the Champions League final in 2022 and netting again as Madrid won the showpiece in 2024.
\nHowever, along with superstars Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, finding balance in a team built around three players who are largely focused on attacking has proven difficult for Los Blancos.
\nCarlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa could not manage it and each left the club over the past two seasons, having failed to win a major trophy since Mbappe\u2019s arrival.
\nMadrid president Florentino Perez, however, has long backed Vinicius.
\nThe winger was his bet when signed at the age of 16 in 2017 and, after helping deliver two Champions League titles, remains a central part of the Madrid chief\u2019s plans.
\nVeteran coach Jose Mourinho was brought back to the Santiago Bernabeu in part to make Madrid\u2019s luxury pieces fit together and pull them in line after a chaotic 2025\/26 campaign.
\nThe Portuguese coach has acknowledged the difficulty of the task, but believes he can find a solution.
\n\u201cTactically, it could be tricky…\u201d admitted Mourinho in August. \u201c(But) they don\u2019t play in incompatible positions.\u201d
\nVinicius has made a promising start statistically but has yet to rediscover the decisive edge that made him one of the most feared forwards in Europe.
\nMourinho described him as not yet being at his best after Tuesday\u2019s 2-1 Champions League victory over Inter Milan, although he praised the Brazilian\u2019s work-rate.
\nThe winger was also whistled by some supporters during the second half before being substituted in the closing stages.
\nMourinho walked over to him as he left the pitch and accompanied him towards the bench in a show of support.
\n\u201cHe deserves all my respect. He\u2019s not at his best, and we all see that,\u201d said Mourinho.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s the first to know it and is working very hard to be the Vinicius that decides match after match.
\n\u201cWhile not being at his peak, he\u2019s working harder than ever, be it in training or in games.\u201d
\nMourinho recalled the forward\u2019s goals against Benfica last season, with Vinicius netting in both legs to eliminate the Portuguese outfit.
\n\u201cThe Vini who is at his best kills games,\u201d continued Mourinho.
\n\u201cLike he killed me in the past when I was with Benfica.\u201d
\nBack on track
\nThe victory over Inter gave Madrid a morale boost after a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis in La Liga last week, their first setback of the season.
\nThey now turn their attention back to the Spanish top flight, where they host Rayo Vallecano on Saturday knowing they cannot afford another slip if they are to keep pace with defending champions Barcelona at the top.
\nVinicius has insisted he can play alongside Mbappe and said Mourinho helped convince him there was nowhere better for him to be than Real Madrid.
\nThe coach, meanwhile, has stressed the importance of the forward\u2019s willingness to work without the ball.
\n\u201cWhen he hasn\u2019t been able to defend, it\u2019s been due to fatigue, but he put in a very good effort during the game,\u201d said Mourinho.
\n\u201cI have to appreciate that, and I have great respect for the Vini Junior I have encountered.
\n\u201cThe time will come when he decides matches.\u201d
\nThat effort was more evident against Inter, when Vinicius made nine recoveries despite not finding joy in attack himself, although his detractors in the Bernabeu did not necessarily appreciate it.
\nFor Mourinho, that work-rate may be enough in the short term while he works at finding the most ruthless version of Vinicius.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MADRID Many Real Madrid fans were disappointed when the club extended Vinicius Junior\u2019s contract this summer, amid speculation he might depart for Arsenal. The Brazilian remains one of the key players of the modern Madrid era, having scored the winning goal in the Champions League final in 2022 and netting again as Madrid won the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":102874,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102891,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102865\/revisions\/102891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}