6 min readUpdated: Oct 12, 2026 12:02 PM IST
In fleeting seconds, Vinicius Junior’s redemption spiralled into rage and expletives. He was certain he ended his seven-match goal drought with a delightful strike against Villarreal on Saturday; he celebrated feverishly, manager Jose Mourinho rolled back his vintage with a touchline sprint. But the VAR not only revoked the goal, but also instructed the referee to brandish a straight red card for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair. Vinicius protested, pleaded, cried, and finally staggered to the tunnel. He would miss the El Clasico next week; his shot at revival would drag on.
In a tactical sense, Mourinho would heave a sigh of relief, even a feeling of liberation. At the heart of his team’s stuttering start, has been the incompatibility of Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe. Both are indispensable, yet both have struggled to reprise their off-field rapport on the field. The Frenchman, who has carried his World Cup touch into the La Liga with seven goals in eight games, starts functionally as the centre forward, but he invariably veers to the left when Madrid attacks, especially when they are launching a quick counterattack. Their heatmap in the 2-1 surrender to Atletico Madrid before the international break shows their undesired stickability. Both almost hug each other, like vehicles stuck in Monday morning office rush hour, almost playing in the same position. They have tried to distance themselves from each other’s shadows, like estranged lovers, but something pulls them back together.
Such tactical puzzles fascinate Jose Mourinho — his major strength as a tactician is his ability to switch seamlessly to a Plan B and C. (Reuters Photo)Both are naturally left-sided wingers. Mbappe has been repurposed into a centre forward on his own insistence, but the inclinations surface frequently and they find each other in the way, eating their preferred space. The ramifications ripple onto other areas of the field, where they end up destabilising the structure, stretching the legs and lungs of colleagues who end up covering the vast expanse of space they have left behind. At times, the vaunted pair has seemed stuck at their overlapping shadows, caught in a strategic freeze, their vision suddenly blurred. Mourinho imploring them to move apart has been a common sight this season. That they are not the keenest to drop back and defend has complicated their misery.
Such tactical puzzles fascinate the Portuguese manager — his major strength as a tactician is his ability to switch seamlessly to a Plan B and C. He once blended Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel and Claude Makelele into an unsurpassable midfield block in his first Chelsea stint; he laid the foundations of Real Madrid’s double pivot of Luka Modric and Xabi Alonso, as two deep-lying playmakers able to hit intelligent passes into the attacking quarter. Madrid claimed the league in only his second season, hitting a record 100 points. Even though he did not survive the third season, the structure he installed and the players he purchased stood Madrid in good stead for several years.
He did tweak the system to nullify their defensive lethargy. Madrid defend in a 4-4-2, whereby the pair is not required to run as hard as they would have been in a more dynamic 4-2-3-1. It obviously compromises their vigour, but it’s a risk he doesn’t bother taking for the creative flourishes of Mbappe and Vinicius. The other spill-on effect has been that the twin-axis upfront has forced Jude Bellingham to a deeper role, making him a less creative but more defensive force. Tuchel deployed Bellingham primarily as a number 10 behind Harry Kane, and he duly provided startling returns.
“[Carlo] Ancelotti found the perfect role for Vini with Brazil, [Didier] Deschamps found the perfect role for Kylian, and [Thomas] Tuchel found the perfect role for Jude [at the World Cup]. But it’s harder to find the perfect role for all three,” Mourinho admitted. “We will find a solution, definitely, and we are all on the same page,” he added.
Three of them are good friends, and egos have not yet flared up. But Mourinho, a master of handling mega egos, knows that it would often take a nudge for best pals to turn sworn enemies. Especially in the club fixated with star culture as Madrid, which clandestinely kept Gareth Bale’s higher transfer fee so that it doesn’t incense Cristiano Ronaldo. Seemingly trivial things like whose shirt is the club pushing more has led to feuds. Not to mention the club’s open campaign for a Ballon d’or for Mbappe.
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He already has navigated Madrid past the storied dressing room showdown between midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde, who was taken to hospital with a head injury. The pair has since waved the olive flag. “What I’ve seen isn’t about peace – it’s about normality, friendship, and cooperation. It’s as if nothing ever happened,” he brushed rumours of a fractious dressing room.
The coming week, though, is decisive for Madrid and Mourinho. Midweek, they meet Bayern Munich in Champions League, where the Vinicius-Mbappe mismatch could prove match-defining. Turn to the weekend, they encounter Barcelona, unbeaten this season and six points already ahead of them. “Ending a season without a trophy is a failure in Madrid,” he once said. Not just another trophy. The league or the Champions League. And the key to Mourinho turning the season around is unlocking the full potential of Mbappe and Vinicius, elite forwards of the world, but locked in an instinctive battle for space.
