The Real Champs
Fansided

Five takeaways from Real Madrid’s first three La Liga games

By Ali Al Hassan

CORNELLA, SPAIN - AUGUST 28: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid celebrates goal 1-3 with David Alaba of Real Madrid, Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid, Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid, Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid, Rodrygo Silva de Goes of Real Madrid, David Alaba of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Espanyol v Real Madrid at the RCDE Stadium on August 28, 2022 in Cornella Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
CORNELLA, SPAIN - AUGUST 28: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid celebrates goal 1-3 with David Alaba of Real Madrid, Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid, Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid, Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid, Rodrygo Silva de Goes of Real Madrid, David Alaba of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Espanyol v Real Madrid at the RCDE Stadium on August 28, 2022 in Cornella Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /
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Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid. (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)
Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid. (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images) /

3. Vinicius Jr. continues his rise at Real Madrid

Vinicius Junior will one day be sitting in an interview looking back at his career. He will undoubtedly point to the 2021/2022 La Liga season as the one that really put his name on the map. But he will have so much else to talk about in a career that looks to be filled with individual and collective trophies for a player who looks well on his way to winning the Ballon d’Or within the next few years, if he continues at this rate.

There is no arguing the fact that Vinicius is one of our main threats going forward. The Brazilian is a nightmare for any defender that stands in his way not because he’s unstoppable, but because if you do stop him in his tracks then he’ll get up and try again. He never stops running towards you, finding different formulas to get past you and moving in various directions. You can’t predict his movement on the ball and more importantly in recent months and as we saw against Espanyol, it’s getting increasingly difficult to predict his movements off the ball as well.

With two goals in three games, the argument that Vinicius can’t score or that he was lucky to find the back of the net as many times as he did last season has been put to rest. He’s a threat on the wings, in the box and in front of goal. He’s also possibly one of the best signings Florentino Perez has ever made. We are talking about a player that not only wanted to play for the club but genuinely loves it. He absolutely adores the fans and other players and most importantly, he’s mature enough to know what he needs to do.

During his vacation, he made sure to continue working hard and had a personal trainer prepare him for the preseason, which in turn prepared him perfectly for the beginning of the season. And he knows exactly how good he is and what he needs to work on because not only is he smart enough to understand the demands of the game, but he listens intently to those who have done it for longer than he has been. Whether it’s staff members or other senior players, Vinicius knows when to keep his head down and take in everything said to him whether criticism or praise. That’s what makes him great and it is probably what will one day make him the best in the world.

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