The level of Vinicius Junior has slipped noticeably of late, failing to complete a single dribble across two consecutive matches. It is a worrying sign over the technical condition of the Brazilian star, who will now miss Real Madrid's next three La Liga games through suspension.
Back on 10 October, Vinicius came off the bench against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu. Inside 20 minutes he completed two dribbles and set up the move that produced the Royal club's second goal. Then came the moment that changed everything. VAR chalked off the goal he had scored himself after replays showed he had pulled Saliba's hair, earning him a four-match ban. He has served one of those already, last Sunday against Sevilla.
He will also sit out the Clasico against Barcelona.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Marca", Vinicius featured against Leipzig but did not attempt a single dribble across 70 minutes, despite dribbling being the very essence of his game.
The same story emerged in his last start, against Roma. Across 59 minutes he managed the same tally: not one attempt to beat his man.
Against Leipzig he looked a different player. No attempts to take opponents on, no smile, two traits woven into his personality and his style that even the most hostile atmospheres had never managed to strip away.
On Wednesday he seemed sluggish, almost sad. Few paid it much attention, and it even drew a sympathetic response from Jose Mourinho, who knows just how badly his side needs the Brazilian firing.
The Real Madrid coach wanted to expand on this matter, saying: "If he is sad, that is a very personal matter. You can form your own impression, but I think he is the only one capable of telling you frankly what he feels or does not feel. As a coach, I am happy with the match he delivered. The expectations of Vinicius are always greater, and he is expected to be decisive thanks to his individual abilities, but he delivered a match that I liked".
"Among the three forwards, he was the player who took on the most responsibility in terms of achieving the team's defensive balance," he added. "Leipzig's right-back was moving between the lines, and Vinicius succeeded in closing the spaces in front of him very well. The ball reached the central area only once. As for attacking, his impact was not overwhelming, but he played with balance. He did not lose the ball, and a chance also came his way that the goalkeeper dealt with brilliantly".
Mourinho was keen to explain the substitution too: "The substitution was not a decision by a coach dissatisfied with his player's performance, but by a coach who has a strong bench. When I made the substitution, I knew I could give the match a different pace by bringing on players like Diomande and Endrick. I knew I had these options on the bench, and you have to get used to that, because I will often substitute a player who is not performing badly, in order to bring on a player who gives me different elements".
"I understand the talk about Vinicius needing everyone's support, and I believe he really does need it," he went on. "Boos when we play away from our stadium give the player a boost of enthusiasm, but when they come from your own team's fans and in your stadium, they hurt him. I, as a coach, am happy with what he delivered".
Dribbling defines any winger, Vinicius included, and that only piles on the pressure now. Yan Diomande, comfortable on either flank, has attempted to beat his man 47 times since the start of the season, with a success rate of 66%.
Vinicius, by contrast, has attempted 38 dribbles at a success rate of just 42%, despite clocking more than 800 minutes to the Ivorian's 565.
Diomande now has the stage to keep padding those numbers across the next three La Liga games against Barcelona, Racing and Valencia, the very fixtures Vinicius misses through suspension.
The Brazilian returns on 4 November, when Real Madrid face AEK Athens in the Champions League in the Greek capital. Only then will we learn whether the dip against Roma and Leipzig was nothing more than a passing phase for a player whose quality no one inside the Bernabeu doubts.