Vinícius Júnior Aims for Goals Against Espanyol

Vinícius Júnior walks into Saturday night with numbers on his side and a familiar target in front of him.

Real Madrid finally start their LaLiga campaign away to Espanyol after their opening fixture against Real Sociedad was postponed, and few players relish this matchup quite like the Brazilian. He does not just enjoy these games; he tends to decide them.

Vinícius, a problem Espanyol know too well

Opta’s data underlines the feeling every Espanyol defender knows when Vinícius squares them up. Five goals in 11 LaLiga meetings against the Catalan club. Three of those strikes have come at the RCDE Stadium, the stage for tonight’s clash.

No other team in the competition has conceded more away goals to him. That is not a coincidence. He has scored three times at three other grounds, but Espanyol sit alone at the top of that particular list of victims.

For a forward who thrives on rhythm and repetition, this matters. Same stadium, same colours, same memories of the net rippling. He arrives “brimming with confidence” not as a throwaway phrase, but backed by a clear pattern: when the fixture list throws up Espanyol, Vinícius usually finds a way onto the scoresheet.

Roberto Fernández finds his moment

Espanyol, though, have a striker with a story of his own.

Roberto Fernández comes into this game in the sharpest form of his LaLiga career. Three goals in his last two league matches – already one more than he managed in his previous 22 appearances in the competition combined.

That run includes his second LaLiga brace, delivered in the last round against Levante. For a player who had been fighting to turn chances into numbers, the recent surge changes the outlook completely. He is no longer just working hard up front; he is arriving in the box with conviction and leaving with goals.

So while Vinícius brings history, Roberto brings momentum. One leans on a record that stretches over years. The other rides a wave that has only just begun to swell.

Mourinho’s perfect record, González’s problem

On the touchline, the numbers paint a very different picture for the two coaches.

José Mourinho has never lost to Espanyol in LaLiga during his first spell in charge of Real Madrid. Six matches. Four wins, two draws. Against no other opponent in the competition has he stayed unbeaten over so many games, though he has also reached the six-match mark without defeat against five other sides.

The pattern is clear: when Mourinho faces Espanyol in the league, he walks away with something. Often all three points.

Manolo González cannot claim the same comfort. His record against Real Madrid in LaLiga is brutal: three defeats in four games, with just a single win to cling to.

Only Barcelona and Villarreal have beaten him more often in the competition, with four victories each. Real Betis, like Madrid, have also handed him three defeats. Real Madrid are not just another big name on his schedule; they are part of a group of clubs who have consistently found a way to beat his teams.

A familiar script – or a break from it?

So the stage is set at the RCDE Stadium: Vinícius hunting another goal against one of his favourite opponents, Roberto Fernández trying to extend the best scoring run of his top-flight career, Mourinho defending a flawless LaLiga record against Espanyol, and Manolo González attempting to rewrite his own.

The numbers point in one direction. The question now is whether Espanyol can tear up that script before it plays out all over again.