Why Is Vini Jr. Not Playing Today for Real Madrid vs. Villarreal?

In less than an hour’s time this Saturday night, Real Madrid will try to kickstart their season when they take on Villarreal on match day eight of the La Liga season.

The starting XI was released not too long ago, with manager Jose Mourinho opting for the following line up: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Rudiger, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni; Guler, Bellingham, Diomande; Mbappe.

This has lead to many fans - Real Madrid or otherwise - wondering where Vinicius Jr is. Is he injured? Did he come back from the Brazil national team with a knock? An illness? Is there a personal reason why he couldn’t start?

Well, the answer is none of the above. Indeed not, Mourinho has simply decided that his form has been too poor to ignore, and has left him on the bench for this game.

Indeed so. The one goal in eight games this season, alongside several poor general displays was just too much to ignore this time. That poor form continued into the international break too, with just one goal - a penalty - in three games against inferior opposition in Australia and India.

Although it is clear that Mourinho really does love Vinicius, and he made that abundantly clear in his press conference on Friday (the 9th of October) afternoon, there is only so much time you can ignore this sort of form, or lack there of. 

So, there is no injury nor illness to the Brazilian. He is simply just amongst the substitutes for tonight's game. Sometimes a player off form plays their way back into form with a goal off the bench, so hopefully that can be the case for the 26-year old this evening. 

He joins Lunin, Mestre, Cucurella, Dumfries, Silva, Diaz, Camavinga, Pitarch, Endrick and Espi on the bench. Truth be told, if anyone there can feel aggrieved, it is not Vinicius, but rather instead someone like Camavinga, who had a very productive break with the France national team. Alas, Valverde has recovered in time to play in this game, which no doubt will not go down very well in some corners.

With FC Barcelona winning 3-0 at home to Getafe earlier on, there will be a substantial points gap if Los Blancos fail to win tonight. It would feel borderline insurmountable, even at this very early stage of the campaign.