Mourinho wants to see ‘best version’ of Vinicius

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Jose Mourinho says the prime version of Vinicius Junior is the one who is scoring goals, but the Real Madrid boss is satisfied with the Brazil star’s form.

Vinicius was linked with a move away from Madrid this summer, with Arsenal interested in signing the winger.

However, Vinicius instead signed a new deal to remain with Los Blancos.

But he is yet to hit top form in 2026-27, scoring just one goal in his six appearances, though he has provided a team-leading three assists.

Vinicius has had opportunities worth 2.4 expected goals, while he has created 12 chances, which ranks behind only Arda Guler (24) among Madrid players.

And Mourinho is happy with what he is seeing from Vinicius.

“The best version of him is scoring goals,” Mourinho said ahead of Madrid’s LaLiga clash with Elche.

“Obviously, assisting is important; working for the team is very important. Commitment, solidarity, and teamwork are very important.

“The day-to-day work is also very important, and he does it very well, but there’s another Vinicius.

“There’s the Vinicius who arrived in Lisbon last season, and in close matches, especially in the two knockout rounds, he gets one chance, scores a goal, and that’s it. He’s lacking that top-level performance lately, but I’m happy with him.”

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) September 14, 2026

Competing for a place on the flanks at Madrid is Yan Diomande, who joined Madrid for big money from RB Leipzig on the back of a hugely successful season in the Bundesliga, as well as impressive performances at the World Cup.

The youngster is yet to score or assist for Los Blancos, but Mourinho has no doubt Diomande will come good.

“He’s got everything he needs. If instead of being at Real Madrid with this squad, he were at a team with fewer high-potential players, he’d surely be a starter for the full 90 minutes of every match,” Mourinho said of Diomande, who has started just one game so far this term.

“I say this about Diomande and all the others. The squad is strong and has many options. The coach doesn’t just focus on ten players and forget about the others.

“Over the course of the season, the engine loses steam, as do motivation and internal competition.

“We’re talking about Diomande, but we could also talk about Vinicius, Arda, Brahim [Diaz], and in January, Rodrygo. Being an undisputed starter, as you all seem to like that word, is difficult.”

Nino netted in two successive LaLiga games, but could not score in a third straight game in the competition as Elche drew with Athletic Club last time out.

He has scored as many goals in his last three matches (two) as he did across his previous 37 games in the competition.

Mbappe recently secured his 50th LaLiga victory with Madrid.

The France star has scored six goals in five appearances in the competition this season, his highest tally after the first five games in the top-flight for the club.

Elche have not won any of their last 16 LaLiga games against Madrid (D3 L13), since a 3-1 victory in March 1978; this is their worst winless run against Los Blancos in the competition’s history.

Madrid are unbeaten in each of their last eight away games against Elche in LaLiga (W6 D2), their best unbeaten run away from home against them.

However, Los Blancos have lost four of their last nine away games in LaLiga (W4 D1); since 2019, they have only suffered five or more away defeats in a single calendar year in the competition once, seven in 2023 under Carlo Ancelotti.

But Elche have not won any of their five games in the 2026-27 LaLiga season (D2 L3) for the third time in a top-flight campaign in the 21st century, after doing so in 2013-14 (D3 L2) and 2022-23 (D1 L4).

Madrid have hit the woodwork eight times in LaLiga 2026-27, twice as many as any other team in the competition this season (Barcelona, four); they are also the first team to hit the woodwork eight times after their first five league games of a season since at least 2003-04.

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