Why I substitute Vinicius Jr. after goal, assist against Real Sociedad — Mourinho

Abdullateef Fowewe

Real Madrid manager, José Mourinho has disclosed he substituted Vinícius Júnior late in Wednesday’s 4-1 LaLiga victory over Real Sociedad so the Brazilian could leave the Santiago Bernabéu to a show of affection from supporters after an influential display.

Vinícius scored Madrid’s third goal and set up Kylian Mbappé’s third to complete his hat-trick before Mourinho replaced him with Yan Diomandé in the 84th minute.

“I would never have taken Vini Jr. off without the goal and without the positive feeling of playing well in the second half,” Mourinho said after the match.

“I substituted him because he also needs to rest a bit, and there’s a match in three days. I thought it would be good for him, especially since last season he occasionally received a few whistles, to feel the affection of the fans,” he said.

Mourinho’s decision turned an ordinary late substitution into a deliberate vote of confidence in Vinícius, who had faced criticism and whistles from parts of the Bernabéu crowd during the previous campaign.

The Portuguese coach was seen gesturing towards the stands as Vinícius left the pitch, with the pair sharing a warm moment on the touchline.

The Brazilian was applauded off after helping Madrid turn a closely contested match into a convincing win.

Mbappé opened the scoring in the 40th minute, but Luka Sučić levelled for Sociedad four minutes later.

Madrid improved after the break as Mbappé restored the lead on the hour, before Vinícius made it 3-1 in the 68th minute and later provided the pass for Mbappé’s 80th-minute chip.

The victory was Mourinho’s first competitive home game since returning for a second spell as Madrid manager and took Los Blancos to two wins from their opening two league matches.