Vinicius is running out of chances at Real Madrid

Vinicius is starting to run out of those seemingly comfortable games, the ones where he can shine or enjoy a quiet night. The growing feeling is that his place is now genuinely at stake. Four LaLiga games out through suspension weigh heavily when things go wrong, as they have for the No. 7. And when they do, the margin for error gets smaller. Rome was not the therapy Vinicius needed, and RB Leipzig, a Bundesliga team even if it is now coming to the Bernabéu, hardly looks like a stroll through one of Gainsborough or Constable’s idyllic landscapes.

The picture is different now because Diomande has become the new standard. The Ivorian’s goal and three assists against Sevilla, the first of the four games Vinicius must serve through suspension, no longer merely change Mourinho’s thinking. They might make him reach for a different brush.

That is why the Champions League could be Vinicius’ salvation. Straightening out something that became even more twisted at the Olimpico. When Vinicius was substituted there, showing his frustration as he headed to the bench, and Endrick came on, Madrid immediately looked much better. It was no longer just Diomande fueling the debate. Then came the drama.

The statistics make even more uncomfortable reading for Vini. He has gone 53 days without scoring for Real Madrid, dating back to Aug. 26 in the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad, and has gone 19 shots without beating an opposing goalkeeper. Alfonso Herrero, Vallés, Josep Martínez, Audero, Dituro, Oblak, Gulácsi and Gollini have all gotten the better of him.

Not even the extra work with Mourinho during the extended international break has managed to get him going again. The Villarreal game could have been his moment, and in a sense it was because he scored, but his hair-pulling incident with Saliba wiped out the goal and took away even that consolation.

The finishing has deserted him, and the spark has gone with it. Or perhaps it happened the other way around. It is difficult to know. But the dribbling, that supreme and decisive skill that first brought him to Madrid, carried him through the period when he struggled to finish chances and eventually helped turn him into one of the best players in the world, has also deserted Vini.

It has become as elusive for him as it once was for opposing defenders. Diomande has completed seven times as many successful dribbles as the Brazilian despite playing 185 fewer minutes than him.

“The only thing that is untouchable is the crest. I don’t like this concept of an untouchable player. What makes a player untouchable is his performance on the field …”

The result is that Mourinho has been taking minutes away from him here and there, and the evidence is that Madrid’s No. 7 has now gone six games without playing the full 90 minutes.

The Portuguese coach knows this is a sensitive issue, particularly when it comes to the starting place of a player he has openly supported from day one. But he is not giving him a free pass either. Asked directly whether he considers Vini untouchable in his starting lineup, the coach suggested Tuesday that there are no unlimited exemptions.

“The only thing that is untouchable is the crest. I don’t like this concept of an untouchable player. What makes a player untouchable is his performance on the field …” Mourinho explained.

In any case, he confirmed that Vinicius will play Wednesday, and the question now is what happens with a Diomande who is flying. Will he start on the other side, or will Mourinho save him with the Clásico in mind, particularly with Madrid sitting on six points from six in the Champions League?

That trip to Camp Nou is there for everyone, except Vini and the injured players. A night like the ones he used to produce against RB Leipzig could give him at least a little comfort.

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