The world of Real Madrid shook when the team news dropped from Xabi Alonso that the Spanish coach had left Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr on the bench for the game against Olympique de Marseille.
Is he injured? Why is Vini Jr not playing?
The reason behind Xabi Alonso dropping Vinicius Jr to the bench in place of his compatriot Rodrygo is simple: he wants to. The new coach has gone for a policy of rotation since taking up the role at the 15-time European champions, and this means that there is no defined starting XI.
So far this season, Vini Jr has scored 2 goals and got 1 assist in 4 games, but he is yet to play the full 90 minutes in any game, with Alonso either starting him on the bench or taking him off before the final whistle.
As far as we know, there is no injury to Vini Jr; after the poor game against Real Sociedad, it seems that the decision is tactical. Here is the starting XI: Courtois; Trent, Militao, Huijsen, Carreras; Güler, Tchouameni, Valverde; Mastantuono, Mbappé y Rodrygo.