Mourinho says Vinícius Junior's poor form 'breaks my heart'

Real Madrid's Vinícius Junior has lost form this season, and the team's coach, Jose Mourinho, has said it breaks his heart to see the forward enduring a difficult situation. In the six matches played this season, the Brazil forward has scored only one goal. In his last six matches, he made only one assist. In the league, in the match Real recently won 1-0 against Villarreal, Vinícius was shown a red card in the second half and sent off after pulling Natan Silva's hair. In an interview with Sky Italia, Mourinho said it is distressing to see the situation Vinícius is going through. "Seeing Vinícius in such a situation breaks my heart. He is a player who works hard happily every day. However, this season he has not yet found the joy of changing the result of a match," Mourinho said. Because of the red card, Vinícius is expected to miss additional league matches, though he will be able to play in Champions League fixtures. Mourinho said he expects a change in the player's performance when he turns out in the Champions League without being able to play in the league. "Since he is suspended in the league, we will look forward to seeing whether he can return to the original Vinícius Junior form in the next Champions League match," Mourinho said. If an additional suspension is imposed over the red card, there is a danger that Vinícius could also miss the season's first El Clásico against Barcelona at Camp Nou on the 25th of this month. Kylian Mbappé, who also joins Vinícius in attack, has scored eight goals in eight matches this season and has two assists. Vinícius scored 24 goals in the 2023-24 season and won Real's top scorer place that season. But because the 26-year-old forward cannot reproduce that form, he has also faced criticism from Santiago Bernabéu supporters.