Champions League: Vinicius to start against Leipzig even as Mourinho says no player is indispensable (Ld)

Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho confirmed on Tuesday that Vinicius Junior will start Wednesday's Champions League home match against RB Leipzig, but insisted that no player was guaranteed a place in his lineup.

Vinicius missed Sunday's La Liga win over Sevilla through suspension and will also sit out this weekend's Clasico away to Barcelona and two subsequent league matches as he serves a four-game ban following his sending-off against Villarreal.

Real Madrid produced arguably their best performance of the season against Sevilla without the Brazilian, raising questions over whether Mourinho would immediately restore him to the starting lineup. "Tomorrow, Vinicius will play as a left winger," Mourinho told reporters.

However, the Portuguese coach was less forthcoming about Yan Diomande, who joined Real Madrid from Leipzig in the summer, saying the winger "doesn't even know if he'll be playing tomorrow or not."

Mourinho also rejected the suggestion that any player should be considered indispensable.

"The only thing that's untouchable is the club crest. I don't like the concept of an 'untouchable' player," he said. "What makes a player untouchable is their performance on the pitch."

Mourinho was also asked whether young striker Carlos Espi, who has scored three goals in all competitions as a substitute, could start alongside Kylian Mbappe, reports Xinhua.

"That's difficult," he said, acknowledging that it was possible to field both forwards but suggesting that doing so could require a change to a 4-2-4 formation.

"With a setup like that, I don't think we can win," he added, explaining his preference for playing with wide attackers.

Turning to Real Madrid's Champions League ambitions, Mourinho said his immediate priority was securing qualification for the knockout phase before targeting a top-eight finish to avoid the playoff round. "Our goal right now is to qualify for the knockout phase play-offs, and the next objective after that will be to avoid the play-off round," he said.

"First, we need to reach the 11 or 12 points required to qualify, and then secure enough points to break into the top eight. There is still a lot of work to do," Mourinho added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IANS

[email protected]