Vinicius Junior had a rough first Matchday against Espanyol, because even though Real Madrid won 2-1, the Brazilian international did not create any chances and really struggled to get into threatening areas and get any real shots off.
While Vini had a strong ending to the 2025/26 La Liga season, the lasting memories of his previous two campaigns since the Kylian Mbappe signing are of bad misses, lost possessions, and spats with former manager Xabi Alonso.
Against Real Sociedad, Vinicius Jr. had a fantastic game, scoring and assisting, and even though he was not as stellar as Kylian Mbappe or Jude Bellingham, the left winger was still great and bounced back, deservingly earning plaudits from the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid won't be overlooking Yan Diomande on the left wing
But after he left the pitch, new 140 million euro signing Yan Diomande, an even more talented teenage prospect that Vini was coming to Madrid from Flamengo, dazzled in that left wing role, and he gave Madridistas som real food for thought.
Diomande was direct and dynamic, leaving defenders for dead with beautiful skill moves, and there is a purity and consistency about the way he plays that game that not even Vinicius Jr. nor Kylian Mbappe can match in terms of intensity and dribbling.
Comparing Yan Diomande to those two feels unfair, but in just his second bench appearance for Real Madrid, Diomande was cooking, and he has quietly been even better than both of those guys as a two way winger since the preseason.
Starting Diomande is tough with all the talent in the squad, and Arda Guler thriving in this false winger role is not doing the Ivorian international any favors. But Diomande looked so intriguing on the left wing that Jose Mourinho may be tempted to listen to some of the Real Madrid fans who would like to see the new summer signing push Vinicius Jr. for minutes.
Vinicius has the love of the Bernabeu to motivate him, but maybe the threat of Diomande could push him a little bit, too. Diomande is planting a seed to Vinicius that he needs to step up or else he may lose his job to younger, hungrier, and very possibly even more talented Diomande, who became a darling at the World Cup after being one of the best forwards in European football for RB Leipzig - even outplaying Vinicius Jr. in the 2025/26 season. Diomande is not someone Real Madrid are going to overlook as a left wing option.
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