Sports Vinicius Junior must 'keep flying' to earn Real Madrid place over Hazard and Asensio, says Rivaldo
Vinicius Junior must 'keep flying' to earn his place in the Real Madrid team, according to Barcelona and Brazil legend Rivaldo.
The forward was in fantastic form before football was suspended in March but he now has to compete with the returning Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio for a place in the starting XI.
Hazard has been back in training after recovering from a fractured ankle while Asensio, who has not played this season due to an anterior cruciate ligament sustained last July, is also fit again.
Vinicius has been used mainly as a substitute this season but had started Real's last two games and scored in the 2-0 victory over Barcelona.
Questions have been asked about the Brazilians end product but he has produced four goals and three assists in all competitions and Rivaldo said he needs to maintain the good form he showed prior to the lockdown.
'Vinicius Junior was in his best form since his arrival at Real Madrid before the lockdown, scoring against Barcelona in El Clasico, but after the break many things can change,' the World Cup winner told Betfair.
'Madrid will have Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio back on track, so the Brazilian has two additional contenders for a starting place.
'The first games back will only tell us which players have reached their peak before the others.
'I'm backing Vinicius to restart well and continue his good form, but there is a chance that things might not go so well after a big gap without playing.
'But despite the competitiveness in the squad, I believe Zinedine Zidane will pick players who are in good form and not just because of his preference, so VinÃcius must try to keep showing his best football to continue as a starter.
'As we used to say in Brazil, he needs to keep flying to earn his place in the team.'
Zinedine Zidane's return to LaLiga action on Sunday evening at home to Eibar but the game will be played at their Valdebebas training ground while work is carried out on the Bernabeu.
