Vinícius Júnior risks further targeting from opponents and parts of the crowd after a heated sequence at the RCDE Stadium in Real Madrid's 2-1 LaLiga victory over Espanyol. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a header, and Álex Calatrava levelled for the hosts before the interval. The match looked destined for a draw until a 90th-minute finish from substitute Carlos Espí settled the contest and handed Mourinho's side all three points.
The game featured repeated friction between Vinícius and Calatrava. Vinícius appeared to be fouled by Calatrava early on without a sanction, and later picked up a yellow card after a confrontation with the same player. Mourinho left little doubt where he stands, saying, "Vini isn't a saint, but what people do to him is too much," and adding that the treatment began "in the first minute." He described a pattern, "one opponent after another after another, 'I foul him, then you foul him, if I have a yellow card, you do it ...'" and warned that the sequence is a source of frustration for the forward.
Mourinho framed his counsel around emotional control, advising his player to moderate celebrations to avoid ejections, and invoked wider social talk about mistreatment. "It's something that has a format," he said, and, "We're in a social era of anti-bullying, but with Vini, we're still in the bullying era, whether it's from opponents or from the public." The comments accompanied Mourinho's return to the club for a second stint, some 13 years after his departure, a spell that ran from 2010 to 2013 and produced a Spanish league title and a Copa del Rey.
The manager also singled out Bellingham after the match, noting the midfielder's recent return to training. "When we talk about the best players in the world, Madrid have a lot, and these three [Bellingham, Vinícius and Kylian Mbappé ] had a big impact at the World Cup," Mourinho said. He conceded he had "doubts whether to start [Bellingham] or bring him on," but added, "I don't know if I did the right thing starting him, but physically and mentally he's very strong," and argued the England international should play nearer the penalty area. Madrid now prepares to host Real Sociedad on Wednesday at the Bernabéu, the club's first home match of the season and an early test of Mourinho's approach.
