Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano | La Liga MD 5

Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano | La Liga MD 5 Real Madrid’s La Liga journey continues on Saturday night as they play host to Rayo Vallecano on Matchday 5 of the competition. Coming off a win over Inter Milan at the same venue, Real Madrid have bounced back strongly from their defeat against Real Betis last weekend. The fact of the matter, however, is that the team looked unconvincing against the Serie A champions despite winning and were lucky to be gifted both their goals on the night. There is a lot to improve on from a Real Madrid perspective, and while it will indeed take time to adapt to a new manager’s ideologies, they simply cannot afford to lose any more points. Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano. Pressure on Vinicius An unsaid reality of the situation at Real Madrid is that the pressure on Vinicius Jr. is growing exponentially, and the winger will not have it easy with any more poor performances. The Brazilian star has been far from his best for a long time now, but he has failed to step up convincingly in any of the team’s five games so far. At a time when Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe are performing week in and week out, Vinicius has failed to deliver at the level expected. Over the past year, relations between the winger and the Real Madrid fanbase have turned sour and the strain appears to be at an all-time high as matters currently stand. Such is the condition of the Real Madrid winger that virtually every press conference Jose Mourinho steps into revolves around him. Further, Vinicius is now being openly booed by a section of the fans even in his own stadium It is high time Vinicius came good for Real Madrid, not only for the club’s betterment but also for his personal confidence.  If the situation persists any longer, the superstar could well collapse for good under the pressure, especially given that he has always been a deeply emotional player who reads a lot into public opinion. The big game double-pivot Set to start together? (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) Aurelien Tchouameni’s fitness prevented him from featuring Real Madrid in the early parts of the season, and he had his first minutes in the win over Inter Milan coming off the bench in the latter stages. In the meantime, Jose Mourinho has tried multiple double-pivot pairings including Federico Valverde-Bernardo Silva, Valverde-Eduardo Camavinga and others.  However, the manager heavily trusts in Tchouameni and the player’s return will have a massive impact on the coach’s lineups. In fact, the Tchouameni-Valverde pairing is said to be Mourinho’s preferred pivot for big games. Both players have not started a game together yet this season, and the clash against Rayo Vallecano tomorrow could hand the manager the best chance to see the duo in action together on the field. In theory, the Valverde-Tchouameni pairing is defensively very solid, but the coach will hope to get a clearer picture of how the team’s buildup, progression, and creativity are affected with two defensively-oriented players. After all, any experimentation must be completed in the early stages of the season as the scope to make errors dramatically decreases with every passing game. Moreover, the duo were involved in a dressing room scuffle last season, and it remains to be seen if that plays a role in their pairing. Chasing a deficit Just four games into La Liga, Real Madrid are already behind in the title race. While these are indeed just early days, falling behind can never be good. Los Blancos dropped points in their last game against Real Betis and currently sit on nine points after four games in the competition. Two teams sit ahead of them in the standings – Deportivo Alaves on ten points and Barcelona on twelve. Just a month into the new campaign, that is a significant difference. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have been flying so far in the competition and do not even appear close to dropping points or being challenged anytime soon. In that sense, Real Madrid simply have no room for error for they are fighting against a near-perfect rival. Any more slip-ups may take their deficit beyond reach and hand Barcelona a comfortable cushion at the club. Winning against Rayo Vallecano, and virtually every league game that comes their way, is thus simply vital for the hosts. The margin for error has never been thinner.