Monday, November 25, 2024, 12:18
Vinicius will miss the crucial duel that Real Madrid will play this Wednesday against Liverpool. The Brazilian winger of Real Madrid suffers an injury to the femoral biceps of his left leg that will keep him in the dry dock for around a month and will therefore cause him to miss the visit that the fifteen-time European champion will pay to Anfield in the fifth Champions League matchday.
This is a hard blow for the Chamartín team, which will not be able to count on its flagship for the next few weeks. Vinicius’ goal is to recover in time to compete in the Intercontinental Cup, in which Real Madrid has a guaranteed place in the final to be held on December 18 at the Lusail stadium in Qatar, with a rival yet to be determined. Until then, the whites will have to do without their fittest player, author of twelve goals and six assists in what is Vinicius’ best start in the seven seasons he has been wearing the Real Madrid shirt.
Vinicius played in full in the League match between Real Madrid and Leganés on Sunday in Butarque. A clash in which the Brazilian, who had just played with his team two matches valid for the 2026 World Cup qualifying phase, shone again by assisting Kylian Mbappé in the first of the three goals scored by the squad led by Carlo Ancelotti and that helped the whites to make up ground with respect to a Barça that, after the blaugranas’ setback against Celta, remains four points behind, although the current champion of the League still has the match that was to be played on November 2 against Valencia in Mestalla pending and which was postponed due to the DANA that devastated the Valencian Community.
Positioned as a center forward against Leganés to leave the left side of the attack on Mbappé as part of the therapy that Ancelotti is carrying out in order to recover the best version of Bondy’s star, Vinicius showed that he is more than capable of operating as a figurehead of bow of Real Madrid. Hence, the mishap suffered by the ‘7’ represents a huge setback for a team that will visit Arne Slot’s fearsome Liverpool, devastated by injuries.
Militao, Alaba, Carvajal, Tchouaméni, Lucas Vázquez and Rodrygo remain in the dry dock, although the latter two are quickening their options for Wednesday. Added to all these losses is now that of Vinicius, who in addition to the Anfield event, will foreseeably miss four League games – against Getafe, Athletic, Girona and Rayo Vallecano -, in addition to the trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta in the sixth Champions League matchday, as long as the Brazilian does not manage to shorten the recovery period. «The crazy calendar. “Let’s recover!” wrote the ‘7’ on his social networks after confirming the mishap he suffered.
Vinicius’ injury complicates Ancelotti’s plans precisely now that the Italian coach seemed to be putting the pieces of the white puzzle together. Accustomed to bringing out their best version in the midst of adversity, Chamartín’s team overcame a difficult ordeal after falling in the classic and also stumbling against Milan, chaining two consecutive victories against Osasuna and Leganés that, added to the two failures suffered by Barça In that same period of time, they have allowed him to fuel the fight for the League title before putting the focus back on the Champions League.
Fire test
Eighteenth classified with six points and currently out of the positions that give direct access to the round of 16, Real Madrid will face a decisive match against Liverpool, the outstanding leader of the top continental competition with full victories in the first four days and yellow jersey also from the Premier League, where the gap that separates them from Manchester City increased to eight points after the resounding defeat that the ‘sky blues’ conceded over the weekend against Tottenham and the triumph of the ‘reds’ in the minimum on the bottom Southampton.
With the full infirmary as the main element of concern within the ‘white house’, Real Madrid will at least face the fight with reinforced morale after recovering in the last two league games that defensive solidity that Ancelotti was clamoring for. Not only did they not concede a goal against Osasuna and Leganés, but they did not even receive a single shot on goal in either of those two matches.
As happened the previous season, Real Madrid seems to have grown stronger in the midst of misfortune and Ancelotti is progressively putting the pieces together. With the defense in tatters due to the injuries of Carvajal, Militao, Alaba and Lucas Vázquez, the good response of the youth squad Asencio in his first two appearances with the seniors has brought some peace to Carletto, who will once again bet on Valverde to mend the right back at Anfield, where the Uruguayan will have the difficult mission of tying up the Scotsman Andy Robertson and the Colombian Luis Díaz at short.
Another good news for Real Madrid is the step forward that Bellingham has taken, especially successful against Leganés as the driving force of the whites and who scored in Butarque for the second consecutive game. The recovery of that wrench is essential for Ancelotti’s team to increase performance, strengthening a midfield in which Camavinga is providing more work than Tchouaméni as an anchor.
Furthermore, the losses have given an opportunity to figures like Arda Güler or Brahim, whose talent and self-confidence provide Real Madrid with valuable weapons, whether starting from the beginning or coming out as a shock.
The pending issue continues to be Mbappé, who despite the liberating goal he scored on Sunday, was once again erratic when it came to finishing in Butarque. Despite this, Ancelotti once again showed affection to the world champion with France in 2018, whom he placed on the left wing with the aim of recovering sensations in his favorite hunting ground. He went from more to less and ended up leaving with a point of frustration after hitting Dmitrovic with one of those shots that went straight into the net not so long ago. «He scored a goal with a fantastic assist from Vini. Little by little the two are improving,” said Carletto before learning of the loss due to injury of the Brazilian stiletto.
