Vinicius' Struggles: Mourinho's Support Amidst Form Slump
José Mourinho did not try to hide it. Vinicius is not the player who used to rip games open on his own – at least not right now. But the Real Madrid coach made it clear after the final whistle that, in his eyes, the Brazilian is still earning every minute he gets.
“He isn't at his best, and he knows it,” Mourinho admitted in his post-match press conference, before immediately shifting the spotlight to the winger’s work rate. This is not the swaggering Vinicius of old, gliding past defenders and deciding nights on his own. This is a different version: one chasing, tracking, and grinding.
“Without being at his best, he's working harder than ever,” Mourinho said. “In the moments that he wasn't able to drop back and defend, it was because of fatigue. I have to value that a lot. I have a lot of respect for this Vinicius. The time will come when he decides games, and wins us games.”
A star out of rhythm, but not out of favour
The numbers underline the dip. After a bruising 2025-26 season, when criticism from the Bernabéu stands became a weekly soundtrack, Vinicius chose to commit his long-term future to Madrid in the summer. The message was clear: he was staying to fight.
So far, the response on the pitch has been muted. One goal and two assists in five appearances is a modest return for a player who built his reputation on explosive end product. The spark is flickering, not blazing.
Yet Mourinho’s tone was protective, almost defiant. For him, this is a slump in form, not a collapse in value.
“If he works, he'll always have my support,” he stressed. “He worked very hard for the team. Playing against a side that plays with three at the back, with wing-backs, it's very hard for the wingers.”
That was the tactical backdrop against Inter. Wide players pinned, space tight, one-on-ones rare and precious. When those duels did come, Vinicius did not punish them as he once would have.
“Obviously with the one-on-ones he had on the left wing, with Vini at his best, he'd kill the game. That's what we expect of him. But he gave everything.”
The expectation remains sky high. So does the patience, at least from the man on the bench.
Structural problems and a reshuffled deck
This was not just about one player’s form. The Inter match exposed how stretched Mourinho’s squad currently is.
Suspensions to Bernardo Silva, Arda Guler and Eduardo Camavinga stripped Madrid of creativity and control in midfield. The solution was a compromise: Trent Alexander-Arnold, one of the world’s most distinctive full-backs, dropped into central midfield.
It was a bold call, and a demanding one.
“It's hard for Trent,” Mourinho conceded. “I appreciate the effort he made, but with his characteristics, the specificity needed to play full-back or central midfield, it's completely different physically.”
Alexander-Arnold’s performance reflected that reality. The technical quality was there, but the angles, the distances, the decisions – all came with a different level of risk.
“He had some losses of the ball, because it's not the same playing with the whole field in front of you, and playing with half the field behind you,” Mourinho explained. “He's played there a few times with Liverpool and the national team, but it's completely different. He didn't have more to give.”
The coach’s words sounded less like criticism and more like recognition of a player pushed to his limits in an unfamiliar role.
A test of resilience
Between an out-of-rhythm Vinicius and a makeshift midfield led by Alexander-Arnold, this was a night that underlined Madrid’s fragility as much as its fight.
Mourinho, though, chose to lean into the effort, not the flaws. He framed Vinicius’ defensive running as a badge of honour, highlighted Trent’s willingness to suffer in a foreign position, and repeatedly came back to one idea: work earns trust.
The question now is simple and sharp. With the fixtures piling up and the scrutiny only intensifying, how long can effort alone carry this Madrid side before their big names start deciding games again?
