Vinicius striker in Real Madrid’s diamond | Analysing Ancelotti’s 4-4-2

Ancelotti’s diamond has led Vinícius to play as a striker leaving the left wing. In the first games he wasn’t at his best level, occupying the same areas as some of his teammates and making bad decisions. Against Juventus he has shown his adaptation to the forward position, having more mobility.

We start with this play in the edge of the box in which he stops, loses his marker and finishes. These pauses were added to his game in recent years, making it impossible for the younger Vinicius.

In previous games when he received in the last third it was with his back to goal, as in this play, a situation that doesn’t favor his style of play.

However, against Juventus he drifted wide, moving to his main position as a left winger. From there he cut inside more often than when he plays in the wing, something that makes all the sense in the world, since he was one of the forwards and there wouldn’t be enough players to finish off a cross.

When he dropped to receive, he made it deeper, being able to turn before the pressing reached him, doing a great job Fran García overlapping.

Something very important whether Real Madrid play in this system or switch back to the 4-3-3 is that Vinícius needs to keep his position in the first line of pressing. Defending in this way, the player who has to go to the wing to jump on the full-back is Camavinga, solving the defensive weakness on the wing that caused Ancelotti so many problems last season.

This position allows him to launch transitions from higher up, being even more dangerous, not only carrying the ball but also attacking the space behind the defense.

Vinícius shows that he can adapt to the forward position, being the real problem who will be the other striker in the team, since Real Madrid needs a player who can secure more than 20 goals to fight for LaLiga and the Champions League.