In Elche, where Real Madrid left with a 3-2 league win, the early-season balance between their two headline forwards has become a little less even. Vinicius Junior remains a regular starter under José Mourinho, but Kylian Mbappé’s sharper return in front of goal has begun to give the Frenchman greater weight in Madrid’s attacking picture.
Vinicius has been taken off in each of Madrid’s last three matches: in the 87th minute of the Champions League victory over Inter Milan, in the 89th against Rayo Vallecano, and with 20 minutes remaining at Elche. Mbappé, meanwhile, has produced eight goals in seven appearances and has accumulated 630 minutes this season, compared with Vinicius’s 598.
That contrasts with the opening four fixtures, when Mourinho started both players every time and their respective workloads were separated by only six minutes. The intention then was clear: to share responsibility and playing time as evenly as possible between the club’s leading attacking names. Recent selections have not broken that arrangement, but they have tilted it.
Vinicius has registered one goal and three assists, numbers that leave him short of his usual influence. Carlos Espí, the young forward receiving more opportunities around the first-team group, has already scored more goals than the Brazilian. Brahim Diaz, Espí and Diomande are also adding pressure for attacking places, making Mourinho’s task less straightforward as he tries to preserve room for both Vinicius and Mbappé.
Still a starter, not a crisis
The situation is not yet viewed as a rupture between Vinicius and his coach. He has kept his place in Madrid’s principal XI and has not been displaced from the side in any meaningful sense; the change is instead one of hierarchy within an attack where Mbappé has made the more decisive start.
There is also a useful comparison with the same stage of last season. After seven matches then, Vinicius had already begun twice from the bench and had played fewer minutes than he has managed this time. His current position may have weakened slightly beside Mbappé’s rapid scoring run, but it does not yet suggest that Mourinho’s trust in him has disappeared.
