Real Madrid vs. Galatasaray: Why was Vinicius bumped for Vazquez again?

Real Madrid will face Galatasaray for the second time in the Champions League on Wednesday, but they won’t have Vinicius Junior in the squad.

Although some fans have been critical of Vinicius Junior for some of his poor shots and missed chances, the Brazilian teenager has been one of Real Madrid’s most impressive attacking players over the last few weeks. Vinicius brings a different kind of quality when he’s on the ball and is one of the most hard-working and active players off of the ball, providing positive defensive contributions that also go overlooked.

Unfortunately, despite impressing in the final 25 minutes of Madrid’s 0-0 draw against Real Betis on Saturday, Vinicius has been left out of the 19-man squad against Galatasaray on Wednesday in the Champions League in favor of Lucas Vazquez

Check out the full squad below.

Zinedine Zidane opted to put Vazquez in the squad over Vinicius on Wednesday last week, too, though Vazquez never even entered the game off the bench. Real Madrid would blow out Leganes that night 5-0.

The last time Real played Galatasaray, Rodrygo received the start and impressed in the crucial 1-0 win, courtesy of an early goal from Toni Kroos. Vinicius Junior did enter the game as a substitute, while Vazquez did not play due to an injury that caused him to miss a couple of games.

Vazquez is healthy now, so it will be interesting to see if he takes the field against Galatasaray. He’ll likely be on the bench behind Eden Hazard and Rodrygo, who have been excellent over the past couple of games. Hazard is finding his old form, while Rodrygo has been an absolute revelation and deserves to be a regular.

It’ll be interesting to see if the decision to put Vazquez in the squad over Vinicius is simply a case of managing a young player’s minutes and rotating the squad. Despite Vazquez’s failings, including a woeful Champions League start against Club Brugge in October, Zidane still seems to be a fan of the experienced right winger. And while Vinicius has been impressive, including last week at his less preferred right wing, Real may not want to put too much on his plate.

Vinicius has been enjoying another quality season and continues to make progress each and every month. He should be a key part of the squad going forward and is a far more effective player than Vazquez at this stage, so it is frustrating whenever he’s healthy but not in the squad.

Zidane may have a good reason in terms of squad management and fitness and Rodrygo will likely start with Hazard anyway, so this decision probably won’t come back to bite the club. Real are expected to get three more points at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Galatasaray won’t make it easy.