Vinicius has often found himself embroiled in controversy when it comes to his on-field antics and was recently the victim of taunts from Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone during the Super Cup semifinal.

“He is much better. The idea before starting was that he arrived right against Atlético and we decided not to accelerate, but if we reached the final, always according to his feelings, let him come. When I train today we will have all the information to evaluate it and if it is to play at the beginning or play a little less.”

Los Blancos beat Atleti on Thursday in the Spanish Super Cup semis, providing a key opportunity early on in Alonso's tenure

“We need to find the right energy and put in a complete performance,” added our coach.

Xabi Alonso says Vinicius Junior is "fundamental" to Real Madrid after the winger was whistled by parts of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd in their 5-1 win over Real Betis. The Brazilian started well but faded as the game wore on,

Real Madrid will face stiff competition to bring Kees Smit to Estadio Bernabeu, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano, while Manchester City are said to be looking at Xabi Alonso as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola, and a Liverpool midfielder has decided to stay at Anfield and turn down a potential move to Los Blancos.

“Toni was struggling with his knee, he couldn’t go on, and Raúl was suffering, and we needed fresh legs in defence. Fran and Ferland came on well, and with the double pivot we made more passes. We’ll see how it goes on Sunday.”

Simeone reportedly quipped that Madrid president Florentino Perez will sell Vinicius, who has had his troubles at Madrid this term and Alonso far from being impressed with that comment