Why Vinícius Jr. was substituted for Real Madrid vs Al-Hilal | OneFootball

Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso has provided an insight into the reasoning behind his decision to haul Vinícius Jr. off early during the cub’s meeting with Al-Hilal.

Real Madrid are of course fresh off a largely disappointing evening’s work on Wednesday.

After kicking the club’s Club World Cup campaign into gear in a meeting with Saudi outfit Al-Hilal, Los Blancos were ultimately forced to settle for a share of the spoils.

This came after Gonzalo García’s opener was cancelled out decisively by Rúben Neves.

The aforementioned Vinícius Jr. for his part featured from the off in Miami, but, with his side searching for an all-important 2nd, was hooked from proceedings 10 minutes from time.

Speaking to the media post-match, the subject of as much was in turn put to manager Xabi Alonso.

And the Spanish tactician went on to explain:

“Vinícius had cramps because of the heat and the pitch.”

Conor Laird – GSFN