MY ACCOUNT
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior must learn a has the humility to improve after making an impressive start to the season, according to head coach Carlo Ancelotti.
The 21-year-old has played an instrumental role in Madrid’s surge to the top of the LaLiga table after their opening 13 games.
Only team-mate Karim Benzema (10) has scored more times in the Spanish top flight than Vinicius, whose tally of eight is as many as he managed in the previous three seasons combined.
The forward has attempted (89) and completed (41) more dribbles than any other player, while only Young Boys’ Moumi Ngamaleu (42) has attempted more in the Champions League.
The Brazil international has also registered three assists in Europe’s premier club competition; a tally only bettered by Bruno Fernandes and Ajax’s Antony.
Nevertheless, Ancelotti insists that Vinicius can get even better.
“Because of the way he plays, [he] is the most unbalanced there is in football, there are not many players who do these things at the moment,” he said.
“He has to improve because one-on-one is important in football, but it is not the most important thing.
“But he has the humility to improve and not be happy about what he’s doing; he wants to learn and he has to learn.
“His head is fine – he doesn’t have the head of someone who has won everything; he has the head of a young man who thinks he has to improve.”
Ancelotti also played down suggestions of a fall-out between himself and Isco.
The Spain international abandoned his warm-up during Sunday’s 4-1 win over Granada after being told he would be introduced at a later point in the game.
“I don’t have to talk to Isco, I’m very fond of him and it’s not much of a problem,” Ancelotti added.
“He tells me that he had already warmed up, he was ready to go in and he has entered.
“Isco is professional, serious, and angry because he doesn’t play, but he has never disrespected me and I have never disrespected him. And he will never disrespect me, and I will never disrespect him.
“We have a relationship that is not only professional; we have spent a lot of time together, we respect each other to the fullest.”
