Real Madrid: 3 takeaways from a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid

Vinicius Junior must start over Marco Asensio

Zinedine Zidane made a quizzical decision on Matchday 26 by choosing to start Marco Asensio on the left and Rodrygo Goes on the right. Whenever Zizou does this, fans get nervous about the old “Cross and Inshallah” approach, which is what we saw during the first half.

Asensio was, as per usual, poor. He had a couple of good crosses, but he offered no real threat on the ball and no incisiveness. Same old, same old, right? Rodrygo wasn’t 100 percent himself and was playing at his less-favored position, so he had to be taken off as well.

Vini and Fede Valverde improved the team as subs, especially the former. The 20-year-old wasn’t perfect, but he showed real desire in trying to beat Atleti’s defense one-on-one. He was actually doing something on the left-hand side, which is more than can be said about Asensio and his occasional crosses.

It was a surprise that Vinicius did not get the game-tying goal contribution in back-to-back big matches, as Karim Benzema could not convert his inch-perfect pass. But Vini still made that pass and still made an impact, with his team tying the game after his inclusion on the pitch. At this point, I don’t see how Zidane can justify starting Asensio over Vini if it comes down to picking one or the other across from Rodrygo.