Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham backed team-mate Vinicius Junior on Wednesday to overcome his goal drought ahead of the Spanish Super Cup semi-final clash against Atletico Madrid.
Xabi Alonso’s Los Blancos face Atletico in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, bidding to reach Sunday’s final against Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao.
Vinicius has failed to score in his last 15 appearances for Real Madrid across all competitions, with his last goals coming in October.
The Brazilian forward has not penned an extension to his contract, which expires in June 2027, and has been linked with a possible departure in the summer.
“I think that Vini is under a huge amount of pressure as a player and as a person,” Bellingham told a news conference.
Vinicius has at times shown his frustration on the field, with angry outbursts when substituted as well as remonstrating with officials, opponents and occasionally rival fans.
“All of the stuff that he does on the pitch is through pure emotion and sometimes you forget to look that it’s a human doing those things,” said Bellingham.
“I think that does add to the pressure of a bit of a block of form maybe, in front of goal.
“For me, when I play with him I still see an electric player that I can give the ball to and (who) can create something out of nothing. I think goals probably don’t tell the full story.”
Bellingham said he and Real Madrid’s other players had to rally around the 25-year-old winger, who came second in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 2024.
“When he’s at his best we’re a much better team and he’s a frightening player. In any way we can try and support him — that’s our job as teammates and I’m sure he’ll get back to his best, 100 percent,” he said.
Bellingham said if he felt Vinicius was doing something which was not benefitting Madrid, he would have a word with the forward.
“He’s no bad influence on the team, he’s no bad influence on anything productive that we’re trying to do,” said the England international.
“I have a great relationship with Vini… If I felt like there was somewhere that he was hurting us as a team and hurting our ambition as a squad, then I’d pull him and tell him. But I don’t think there is at all.
“He’s had a bit of a blank spell in front of goal but like I said, I’m sure he’ll return to his best level with a bit of confidence that we can all give him.”
Bellingham said the squad also supported coach Alonso, who came close to the sack towards the end of 2025 amid a run of shaky results.
“At Real Madrid there’s a tendency to get a little bit over-exaggerated in the bad moments… with the coach, we’re all behind him,” explained Bellingham.
“What happens tomorrow will hopefully be a win for us, but if not the decisions that are made are way above my head.”
– Alvarez struggling too –
Atletico Madrid captain Koke backed striker Julian Alvarez, despite a similarly poor run of form to Vinicius.
Argentina international Alvarez, a key player for the Rojiblancos, has scored just twice in his last 10 games across all competitions.
“The big players all demand a lot from themselves, obviously we don’t have to demand a lot only from Julian but from all of us, to achieve the objectives that we want,” Koke told a news conference.
“Big players like Julian appear when you need them most, tomorrow is an important day.”
Koke recalled Alvarez’s superb display in the 5-2 win over Real in September, in which the forward netted twice.
“I hope he has the luck, like he did in the previous game at the Metropolitano, where he had an incredible game,” continued Koke.
“I’m certain that when we need him most, he will be at 100 percent.”
Alvarez joined Atletico in August 2024 from Manchester City, for an initial 75 million euros ($88 million).
The 25-year-old has netted 11 times in 24 matches this season, seven of those in La Liga, where Atletico are fourth, seven points behind second-placed Real.
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© Agence France-Presse
