Vinicius's goal drought at Madrid reaches nine matches

Real Madrid beat Leipzig 4-1 in the Champions League. Vinicius Junior failed to find the net for the ninth consecutive match in a Madrid shirt. The Brazilian, who had just served the first game of a four-match domestic league suspension, was in the starting eleven.

At the Santiago Bernabeu, part of the crowd booed the player, while some fans backed him by chanting his name. Midway through the first half, the reaction grew when his pass to Jude Bellingham missed its target. Bellingham appeared to respond by applauding and calling on the stands to support him. Before halftime, Vinicius took a shot from distance that forced Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt into a difficult save.

Without scoring, the player had a hand in Arda Güler's goal in the 52nd minute. Head coach Jose Mourinho took Vinicius off in the 70th minute, along with Alvaro Carreras. The Brazilian looked unhappy about the substitution, but did not react as harshly as he did in the Roma match. Mourinho said the decision was about squad depth and had nothing to do with dissatisfaction with his performance.

Kylian Mbappe also backed his teammate. The French star said that Vinicius being upset shows he cares about the team and the fans, and asked the 26-year-old to stay calm and regain his confidence. Vinicius has two goals in total this season for club and country. He scored his only goal at Madrid in August in the second La Liga match, and the other in a friendly against Australia in September in a Brazil shirt.