Vinicius Jr has found himself under more pressure at Real Madrid after a 3-2 win over Elche.
Jose Mourinho’s side gave up a 2-0 lead only to be saved in extra time by Carlos Espi.
The Spanish striker was the lowest-profile of Madrid’s summer signings, but has so far proved the best value for money with two match-winning goals.
Responding post-match, AS editor and Real Madrid fan Tomas Roncero commented: “Espi has to be a starter. And if Vinicius has to be on the bench, then he’ll be on the bench.
“Vinicius came here as a kid and learned how hard it is to be a starter at Real Madrid. Espi has already saved us twice.”
Guler and Espi are Madrid’s new heroes
He added: “The first half saw a masterclass from Arda Guler, giving Real Madrid a 2-0 lead.
“In the second half, they seemed to take a snooze-fest. Elche got back into the game.
“And just when it looked like disaster was imminent, the giant appeared to score the third.”
Later giving his take on Espi, Mourinho commented: “He’s doing well, he’s contributing to the team.
“He has an exceptional player ahead of him [Vinicius]. Playing with both of them together isn’t easy. Otherwise, we don’t have players on the wings to be fast, and the team loses its balance.
“With the substitutions at the end, I risked everything. We won, we could have lost, but we had to do it.”
Espi is an out-and-out No.9, so such a move would see Kylian Mbappe placed on the wing with Vinicius benched.
Mbappe scored in the match, but has had a week of tension over his Ballon d’Or comments about Ousmane Dembele.
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