Vinicius Struggles for Goals as Questions Grow Over His Place at Real Madrid
Real Madrid's Brazilian star Vinicius Junior is on the pitch, but the old spark seems missing. Questions are being asked about his form this season — is this the real Vinicius, or has he become a different player after losing his touch?
Statistics have made that question louder. So far in the 2026-27 season, Vinicius has scored just one goal in 10 matches for Real. In La Liga he has one goal and three assists in eight matches, while in the Champions League he has neither a goal nor an assist in two matches.
According to Spanish media calculations, this is Vinicius's worst start to any season since he joined Real in 2018. For a player who has been the heart of Real's attack in recent seasons, such a start is unfamiliar even to supporters.
His failure to convert chances is even more striking. Across all competitions this season, Vinicius has scored only once from 25 shots. Yet the expected goals figure from his chances was 3.14 — scoring just once from that is truly unbelievable.
He also lags in shot conversion. At just 4.4 percent, he scores fewer than four goals per 100 shots. Among players who have taken more than 20 shots, that rate is the second lowest in Europe's top five leagues.
The picture from his latest match was the same. On Thursday night in the Champions League, during Real's 4-3 win over Roma, coach Jose Mourinho took him off in the 59th minute. He had no goal, no assist, no shot on target and no pass that created danger.
He was stopped in every dribble in that match as well. After the game, Vinicius was forced to admit that he was annoyed with himself for not being in his best form. Such an admission from a star player shows the depth of his frustration.
The comparison became sharper when Endrick, who replaced him, scored a goal and provided an assist. Mourinho had made clear before the match that he trusted Endrick, and the young player repaid that faith on the pitch.
Yan Diomande is also increasing the pressure. He played brilliantly against Sevilla in La Liga. The Ivory Coast winger has a goal or an assist in each of Real's last four matches, and he can play on either wing.
With Vinicius banned for four league matches, Diomande started on the left wing against Sevilla for the first time and played superbly. A major match like El Clasico is ahead, and Real will not have the Brazilian star in that match because of the ban.
The decline is clear compared with last season too. Last season Vinicius contributed an average of 0.6 goals per match for Real, with 22 goals and 10 assists in total. This season that average has fallen to 0.4. In dribbling he is now behind Diomande as well — Diomande's success rate is 65.7 percent, Vinicius's 46.5 percent.
After cosmetic surgery on his face following the World Cup, a conspiracy theory in Brazil about whether Vinicius was 'real or fake' did not hold up at the time. But his performances on the pitch are now bringing that joke back. If Diomande plays well in the Clasico, Vinicius's fight to keep his place in the eleven will become even harder.
