Yan Diomande came alive in the second half of Real Madrid's 4-3 win over Roma on Wednesday night. In the first half, he was playing on the right side. Even though he had a couple of good moments here and there, which included an assist to Kylian Mbappe's goal, he was not involved too much in the final third. He had a few good moments, but he was playing very much in the right half-space, which is something that he has not done much.
However, when he moved to the left side after Vinicius Junior's substitution, everything changed. He did everything else almost perfectly. He completed six dribbles on the night and also had four interceptions. Many of those dribbles came from that left side as he tirelessly worked through Roma's defence to be able to find an opportunity for a Real Madrid player to score.
Yan Diomande is doing now what Vinicius Junior used to do
He was unable to get on the score sheet, but he tried absolutely everything, and it was really, really good to see. It is worth noting that this is exactly what Real Madrid fans sometimes want from Vinicius Junior. He used to be a relentless dribbler who kept going past one opponent after another in search of a moment of magic that would create a goal for Real Madrid. It has happened on so many occasions in the past.
It seemed like Diomande was taking a page out of the old Vinicius Junior's book. This is precisely why Real Madrid fans want this version of Vinicius Junior to be back. Diomande was playing a very inspired brand of football, and he looked dangerous with the ball and working hard without it. At one point in the last couple of years, Vinicius Junior also used to do the same thing, and that is what Real Madrid fans want from him.
If he's not able to continue doing that for the club, then there is no point in him starting any games over players like Diomande, who provides so much value to the team at this current moment.
Obviously, things may change, and Vinicius Junior might find his best form in the next few games. As it stands, Jose Mourinho must pick his team on merit, and Diomande is taking all of that at the moment. He completely deserves every single starting spot that comes towards him from now until the time this version of Vinicius Junior is back.
Add us as a preferred source on Google