Through the early days of the Xabi Alonso era at Real Madrid, his vision is clear: Kylian Mbappe is his centerpiece and the star of his team.
For many this isn't much of a surprise; the Frenchman was expected by many to be the main man at Real Madrid after his arrival last summer.
And so far for Xabi Alonso his centerpiece is delivering on expectations. Mbappe has been arguably the best player in the world so far this season putting up far better numbers then he was at this point last season. The Frenchman has already bagged nine goals and two assists in La Liga as well as five goals in the Champions League.
With Real currently sitting first in La Liga and second in the Champions League table, it seems Xabi Alonso has made the right call making Mbappe his main man. With Mbappe's hot start to the season, many fans have started to look at some of the other attackers in the squad and question their level and performances under Xabi Alonso.
One of those players getting loads of criticism from fans and the media for his lackluster start to the season is Vinicius Jr. The Br azilian has been playing second fiddle to Mbappe so far this season and many are calling for the Br azilian to step up his performances on the pitch. However, are his performances really that far off of Mbappe's? The answer many surprise many.
To the surprise of many, Vinicius Jr is only two goal contributions behind Mbappe on La Liga this season. While the Br azilian has yet to get off the mark in the Champions League, he has quietly put together one of the best starts in La Liga, bagging five goals and four assists in 10 matches.
While Vini has been getting criticism recently for off the field drama, his performances in the pitch are getting far too much criticism than they should be. The Br azilian has quickly become a scapegoat for Los Blancos where many put their blame when the team has a bad performance.
Vinicius has been showing in the early days of the season that he is more than capable of being more of a support man for the main superstar instead of the star himself as in recent years. While there has been the occasional issue with Xabi Alonso over substitutions, Vinicius doesn't deserve the amount of criticism he's been getting for his play so far this season.