Mbappe Dominates Real Madrid and Vinicius Suffers Under Pressure
The former Spanish player Julen Guerrero, a star of Athletic Bilbao, revealed that Brazilian star Vinicius Junior feels "suffocated" at Real Madrid with his French teammate Kylian Mbappe, indicating that the player has become convinced that he is living in the shadow of the team's top scorer.
Guerrero said in statements to "Estadio Radio" on Sunday:
"Vinicius feels that he has been marginalized since Mbappe joined the team. It has been clear over the past period, but now I think he is convinced that he is living in the shadow of the Frenchman, especially since Mbappe is the top scorer and the most capable of finishing attacks."
The match statistics clearly show this, as Mbappe has scored 38 goals with Real Madrid this season across all competitions, compared to only 10 goals for Vinicius, including a brace from the penalty spot in the last match against Real Sociedad.
This comes after Vinicius's performance noticeably changed in recent weeks under coach Álvaro Arbeloa, following much criticism of his level during the tenure of former coach Xabi Alonso, who was dismissed after Real Madrid lost 3-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final last month.
It seems that the competition within Real Madrid between the two stars has become a thorny issue, making the Brazilian live in the shadow of the French brilliance, at a time when the team continues to seek to regain its European dominance in the Champions League, with an upcoming match against Benfica where the team aims for revenge.
