Yan Diomande was really good for Real Madrid in their 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday night. Diomande scored a screamer of a goal and also assisted Arda Guler's emphatic finish, and had a generally very good performance for Real Madrid.
The fact that this is even a question during Diomande's first season at Real Madrid is shocking, but his performances have led fans to talk about whether an emerging talent from the Bundesliga (in his first season at Real Madrid, who has played in different positions as well) has been better than Vinicius Junior, a player who was competing for the Ballon d'Or two years ago.
The answer is yes. At least for this season, Diomande has been much better than Vinicius Junior, and even if you disregard the goals and assists, there is no comparison in how they have played on the pitch.
Let's be clear on one thing: Diomande has not even had all-time great performances. There have been some bad ones with some great ones, but it's not all been perfect for him either. The problem is that, with Vinicius Junior, most of his performances this season have been pretty bad, not just according to his standard, but just pretty bad in general.
Yan Diomande provides more stability than Vinicius Junior
Diomande has scored two goals and assisted three others in 545 minutes this season. Vinicius Junior, on the other hand, has one goal and three assists in 731 minutes this season.
Diomande has also made better decisions, hogged the ball less, and worked harder than the Brazilian despite playing in the same position. Diomande has completed 23 dribbles with a 65.7% accuracy, while Vinicius Junior stands at 14 with a 46.7% success rate. Diomande has 16 defensive contributions, while Vinicius Junior has just six, in more games, in La Liga.
This just shows you that a 19-year-old player who is playing his first season at the biggest club in the world is outperforming a player who has just received one of the biggest contract extensions in recent history for Real Madrid.
Vinicius Junior is a player who was dominating Champions League football less than two years ago, and now he is in a position where even a 19-year-old is outperforming him. It is a really bad situation for not just Vinicius Junior but also the club, because the better Vinicius Junior plays, the better it is for Real Madrid.
However, if he keeps playing the way he is playing and he's not able to improve on his performances, doubts are cast on Real Madrid offering the huge extension to the player in the summer in the first place.
At some point, Mourinho will have to continuously bench him so that the rest of the team is able to benefit from a better player's presence. Mourinho might stick with Vinicius Junior for a while, but if the performances don't improve, the hope from Madrid fans is that the Portuguese manager finally understands that you can only show a player so much love. The player will have to return it with good performances, and if that is not happening, the better player should start in that position.
In this case, the better player is Diomande, and even if he does not start on the left right after Vinicius Junior is back from a suspension, he should at least be in contention if the Brazilian's performances do not improve.
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