Vinicius left on his own

Real Madrid’s vast attacking arsenal, at least on paper, currently has a single source of goals. Vinicius has been left to carry the load. The rest, aside from a physically limited Mbappé, have been little more than trickles. The team’s last three goals — in the 4-1 win over Real Sociedad, the 1-0 victory at Benfica and the 1-1 draw at Osasuna — all came from the No. 7. And in different ways: against La Real from the penalty spot after earning the foul himself; at the Estádio da Luz with one of the finest goals of his career before Prestianni soured his night; and at El Sadar playing more like a traditional No. 9 than Mbappé.

While Mbappé’s knee issue offers some mitigation for the Frenchman, it does not for the rest of the attack. Gonzalo has been a stream that could become a powerful tributary. He showed it against La Real, scoring with his first touch, but it has not been enough to convince Arbeloa. Amid the controversial carousel of decisions by the Madrid coach in Pamplona, that was one of them. With Madrid trailing and tightening up around the 60-minute mark, the broadcast cut to an editorializing shot of the academy product sitting stone-faced on the bench, followed by Arbeloa wearing a similarly rigid expression. Perhaps wondering what Mourinho would do in a similar situation. Gonzalo did not enter until the 74th minute.

Back to Vini. Of Madrid’s 33 shots between Lisbon and Pamplona in the span of a week, 11 came from the Brazilian. One-third of the total, far above his norm. In fact, exactly double his usual rate: Vinicius had been averaging 16 percent of the team’s shots per game. He was asked to lead more, and he has embraced the responsibility without hesitation.

So much so that, seeing he is in form, the team has increasingly leaned on him. Perhaps too much, as Arbeloa himself acknowledged. “We need to create one-on-one situations on both sides. We overload the left flank a lot, which is natural, but that makes us easier to defend,” he admitted.

A nightmare for Rosier

Despite that acknowledged predictability, there is another reason to keep feeding him the ball: things are working for Vinicius. Not just in terms of goals. For Rosier, tasked with marking him in Pamplona, it was a long night. On two occasions, Vinicius beat the French fullback cleanly and delivered passes into the heart of the box with clear advantage, only for teammates to fail to capitalize. The lone blade in an otherwise blunt Madrid attack.

Arbeloa struggled to find alternative routes forward, and in the end it was Vinicius himself who drove through the middle like a battering ram, forcing his way into the box and scoring the equalizer. Afterward, he pointed to the name on his jersey. A statement and a reminder, conscious or not, that Vinicius is being asked to do it all.

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