LaLiga: Why I substituted Vinicius Junior against Real Sociedad – Mourinho

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed the reasoning behind his decision to substitute Vinicius Junior during the team's 4-1 LaLiga triumph against Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Wednesday. The coach opted to remove Vinicius and replace him with Yan Diomande in the 84th minute of the match. Vinicius scored the goal and contributed a hat-trick for Real Madrid, resulting in a victorious outcome.

During a post-match interview, Mourinho articulated that he made the substitution to allow Vinicius to rest, considering the team's subsequent fixture against Malaga on Sunday. The Real Madrid coach affirmed, "I would never have taken Vinicius off without the goal and the positive feeling of playing well in the second half." He added, "I substituted him because he also needs to rest a bit, and there is a match in three days.

I thought it would be good for him, especially since last season he occasionally received a few whistles, to feel the affection of the fans."