Mourinho: No Real Madrid player is untouchable

Jose Mourinho insisted no Real Madrid player is "untouchable" amid calls for Yan Diomande to start over Vinicius Junior.

Vinicius has struggled to make his mark this season, scoring just once and providing three assists in 10 appearances for Los Blancos.

The 26-year-old also received a four-match ban in LaLiga for pulling the hair of Villarreal's Nathan Saliba, meaning the Brazilian will miss the first Clasico of the season on October 25.

Diomande, meanwhile, has impressed since returning after the international break, directly contributing to four goals in three games (two goals, two assists).

Mourinho claimed no player is a guaranteed starter in his side and revealed Vinicius will start in their Champions League match against RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

"The only thing untouchable is the badge. I don't like this concept of an untouchable player," said Mourinho.

"What makes a player untouchable is their performance on the field.

"Vinicius is going to play on the left wing [against Leipzig]. Yan doesn't know if he's going to play or not."

Madrid and Leipzig will meet for a fifth time in the Champions League, with the German side only winning one of the previous four (D1 L2): 3-2 in a home match in October 2022.

Los Blancos lost both of their games against German opponents in last season's Champions League, both against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

They last lost three consecutive European games against German opposition between May 2001 and April 2002 (three).

Ahead of the match, Mourinho explained Madrid's immediate goals in the Champions League.

"It's very early. Our goal now is to qualify, and then the next objective will be to avoid the play-offs," added the Portuguese.

"I have a feeling that we're going to need a lot of points to do that. First, we need to reach the 11 or 12 points that qualify us, and then we need to get the points that allow us to finish in the top eight."