Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after emphatic El Derbi win

Should Real Madrid start Rodrygo Goes over Vinicius Junior?

I don’t want to harp on Vinicius Junior too much, but I have to be honest in my evaluations of players, no matter how much I want them to succeed. In both wins over Borussia Monchengladbach and Atletico Madrid, Vinicius was the only player who performed poorly. In El Derbi, it got to a point where the other players realized they were better off not passing it to him as frequently. There was literally another play in this game in which Vini lost the ball in his own half. This time, he lost the ball by doing an ill-advised trick.

Vinicius had fewer touches than any starter on the pitch for Real Madrid with 41. Thibaut Courtois had 42 touches.

Rodrygo didn’t get much time on the pitch, but we saw exactly what he can do off the bench in many other appearances. Coming into Matchday 13, Rodrygo was averaging 0.66 assists per 90 minutes, according to FBRef.com, which is the highest average on Real Madrid.

Vinicius still needs to develop, and it is unfair for him to face so much pressure as a starter when Eden Hazard is out. Rodrygo is more “ready” than Vinicius, and, again, if he’s putting up those numbers mostly on the right-hand side, imagine what he can do with consistent minutes back at his preferred left wing spot.