Vinicius is worth double in the Champions League

“He’s the one who has to win the game for us against Manchester City.”

The phrase echoes around Valdebebas almost like a verdict, reflecting the feeling that has taken hold in the club’s highest offices. There is complete trust in the Brazilian. He is granted the status of a Galáctico – a truly decisive player – and much of the hope rests on what he can produce on the field to push Real Madrid through their tie with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

The expectation is that, as on so many previous nights, his relentless drive and explosive ability to attack defenders – his devastating persistence against back lines – will spark the rest of the team and turn the European evening into another magical night for Real Madrid.

The games against Getafe and Celta left a small blemish on what has otherwise been a brilliant recent run for Vinícius. Before those outings, the former Flamengo player had scored five goals across four consecutive games – against Osasuna and Real Sociedad (two), and in both legs of the round-of-32 tie against Benfica, where he proved decisive in sending Madrid into the next round.

No one can deny that Vinícius has been indispensable in the team’s success in Europe’s top club competition in recent years. It is clearly his favorite stage. The numbers back that up. It is in Champions League knockout rounds where he consistently appears when it matters most.

Vinícius has played in 20 knockout ties with the white shirt – including finals – and has scored or assisted in 17 of them (37 games in total). Across those ties, he has recorded 14 goals and 12 assists, failing to contribute directly in only three.

The statistics underline his influence even further. Over the past eight editions of the European Cup, he is the player who has participated in the most goals during knockout rounds. He is also the competition’s leading assist provider in that span. As a scorer, only Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé (18 goals each), Erling Haaland (16) and Robert Lewandowski (15) have more.

But Vinícius carries a distinction none of them share: he has scored in two Champions League finals. Proof that the tournament brings out his best lies in another figure – he averages 0.41 goals per game in the Champions League (32 in 78), double his scoring rate in La Liga (0.21 per game, 70 in 232).

Built like steel

There is another detail that does not go unnoticed in the offices at Valdebebas when analyzing Vinícius and his importance to Real Madrid.

He seems to be made of steel.

He rarely misses a game through injury and is almost always available when the team needs him. Simply put, he is tireless. This season he has been available for Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa in every match except one – the trip to Mestalla, which he missed due to yellow-card accumulation.

With 3,102 minutes played, he is the second outfield player with the most minutes this season, behind only Federico Valverde (3,213).

Across the eight seasons Vinícius has spent at Real Madrid, he has suffered just one muscle injury – during the 2024–25 campaign – which kept him out for four games. The rest have been traumatic knocks, such as the lateral ligament injury he suffered in 2018–19 that sidelined him for nine matches, along with the occasional bout of flu or a gastrointestinal virus.

The numbers are striking in his favor: out of 389 possible matches, he has been unavailable for only 28 – just 7.1 percent.

And that durability, combined with his Champions League goals, gives even greater weight to the phrase now circulating around Valdebebas like both a statement and a plea:

“He’s the one who has to win the game.”

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