There were, unfortunately, quite a few poor performances from Real Madrid players despite a 2-1 win over Espanyol on the first Matchday of the 2026/27 La Liga season for the Royal Whites, but no single player was more disappointing than left winger Vinicius Junior.
Maybe, as Jose Mourinho discussed about his players overall at the post game press conference, he was still gassed from playing for Brazil at the World Cup, but, well, it's not like they went deep in the tournament. Kylian Mbappe's France made it all the way to the semifinals, and yet the No. 9 looked incredibly explosive in creating chances for himself vs. Espanyol (despite also having a below average game since he failed to convert any of them into goals).
Vinicius did try hard and drew a lot of fouls against an Espanyol side that, once again, got away with quite a few bookable offenses, but it also seemed like the left winger was trying too hard to draw fouls and fall on the ground than actually create chances.
Vinicius Junior is in more trouble than before
It's the same issues over and over again for Vinicius Junior at Real Madrid. He carries the ball, he stays dribbling uselessly on it, and when the time comes to make the decisive pass, he holds onto the ball and loses it, mostly watching the ball tumble out of bounds. Vinicius creating no great shooting opportunities for himself or others, and you would expect a lot more than 0 key passes from a starting left winger for Real Madrid vs. Espanyol who had the lion's share of the ball.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe looked like he should be the starting left winger with how incisive his dribbles were, and while Mbappe's problems are significant, the comparison isn't even to him but to the forward who came off the bench and won the game, Carlos Espi.
If Espi keeps doing this well, the comparisons may not be to Joselu but to someone like Raul, because the big man is an absolute dog with how hard he works to win possession and how great of an opportunistic finisher he is.
Espi saw Mbappe fumbling with the ball in the box, so he stepped in and did it himself, stroking the ball home for the 2-1. Vinicius Junior has to start watching his 6 now, because Espi could easily become the new No. 9 to give Real Madrid more goals than Mbappe while Mbappe takes over for VIni on the left to provide more decisiveness from the wing. Vini is in big trouble now.
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