Real Madrid: 5 burning questions from the humiliation at Alcoyano

What is the proper response to Vinicius Junior’s performance?

In light of Eden Hazard’s recent struggles, Madridistas have been wondering if an opportunity is open for Vinicius Junior to claim a start or two as the left winger in the 4-3-3. Vinicius hasn’t been used much lately as a substitute, and he should still be called upon more despite his horrible performance against Alcoyano. But at the same time, few will clamor for him to start over Hazard after seeing what he did in this match.

Vinicius was the worst player on the pitch on either team. I’m serious. It was frightening to see how poorly he played, and it’s to the point where I’m not even sure what’s going on with him. This is not the Vinicius we saw in 2018-2019, 2019-2020, or even the start of this season.

Let’s run down some of the errors. He nearly got Marcelo injured with a pass that was poorly-weighted, despite the fact that he had ages to ponder his move. The pass itself was also in a less-threatening position than Vini’s original spot. Vinicius regularly ran into defenders on the dribble without so much as putting in a move. He messed up a breakaway chance by kicking the ball straight at the goalkeeper when he could have done pretty much anything else. And he surrendered the game-tying goal in regulation by failing to mark his man in what can only be described as an amateurish mistake.

Statistically, Vinicius had one shot on target and one dribble completed with a big-chance missed and three offsides. The fact that he had only one completed dribble against a third-division defense is absolutely embarrassing, and he made more mistakes than positive plays.

Vinicius needs minutes. He needs confidence. But his mistakes are costing the team matches, as they did against Alcoyano. I don’t know what the proper solution is, and I don’t want to overreact. But maybe Vini truly does need the right loan move in order to fulfill his world-class potential.