Will Vinicius Junior put an end to Real Madrid's goal-scoring woes? 

The ‘Kings of Kings’, Real Madrid, have not been very kingly of late. They have suffered five losses and a draw in their last nine matches, which includes a 5-1 battering at the hands of their arch-rivals Barcelona and losses to CSKA Moscow, Alaves and Levante.

They have a goal difference of -3 with a majority of their goals coming against UD Melila, a team playing the the ‘Segunda Division B’. A team with such a star-studded line-up has been struggling to even get to the top four. That doesn’t sound like the condition of a team who’ve won the Champions League for three straight years.

A currently manager-less Real Madrid are struggling to find their form as continuous lapses in defense and lack of goals have constantly been costing them. But could this one player come to the rescue of the ‘Los Blancos’?

Yes, I am talking about the 18-year-old Brazilian prodigy Vinicius Junior.

Real Madrid signed him in the summer of 2016, but had to wait for him to turn 18 so that he could join the Spanish side. He played for Flamengo in the Brazileirāo Serie A and his statistics are even better than those of Neymar, who played for Santos in the same league during his younger days.

Vinicius Junior decided to play for Real Madrid’s reserve side Castilla in his starting months at the Bernabeu, opting for more game time. He has already scored four goals in the five matches he has played for Castilla, assisting another one and scoring an audacious free kick.

Not giving the youngster enough game-time in the Champions League and La Liga was also one of the reasons behind the criticism that the recently sacked Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui faced. And this has so far been the biggest change that the temporary manager Santiago Solari has made.

The Argentinian manager gave the Brazilian player a place in the starting 11 when the team faced UD Melila, and the player didn’t give anyone even a chance to raise their eyebrows regarding his performance as he assisted twice and hit the crossbar once. He was Madrid’s best player in attack and won the hearts of all onlookers.

In the league, Madrid faced Valladolid in the following days and again, Solari included Vinicius in the squad - but this time only as a substitute. No team could break the deadlock, and another draw for the Los Blancos looked inevitable, but that was the case only until the introduction of Vinicius Junior.

He could only show glimpses of his Brazilian flair and speed, but it was enough to allow him to cut through the opposition defense. With an admittedly not-so-clear shot, he forced a deflection that ended up in the back of the net - although he was not given credit for the goal.

Regardless of the little time he spent on the pitch, he dazzled everyone in the crowd and made a strong statement about his inclusion in the starting line-up for the upcoming matches.

With the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, everyone believed it was finally time for Gareth Bale to take over the role that the Portuguese previously played. But Bale's knack of picking up injuries has hindered his form ever since he joined the Galacticos.

Ironically, the Welshman was replaced by Vinicius Júnior in the 71st minute of the match against Valladolid.

With Madrid facing the lack of a prolific poacher and goal scorer, it seems that this is the best time for the Brazilian wonder-kid to cement his place in the side and make a name for himself.