Real Madrid moved to the top of La Liga after a 3-1 win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, with Vinicius Junior scoring twice before Kylian Mbappe sealed the victory late on.
The result puts Madrid on 21 points, two clear of Barcelona who face Sevilla on Sunday. Villarreal remain third with 16 points.
The opening half saw chances at both ends. Aurelien Tchouameni headed narrowly wide before Mbappe forced a save when he capitalised on a defensive error and set up Franco Mastantuono, whose effort was deflected over by Renato Veiga. At the other end, Tani Oluwaseyi broke through for Villarreal but was denied by Thibaut Courtois.
Madrid broke the deadlock shortly after the interval when Vinicius drove into the box from the left and squeezed in a shot that deflected off Santi Comesana. The Brazilian doubled his tally in the 69th minute from the penalty spot after being brought down by Rafa Marin, his low effort creeping under goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
Villarreal hit back quickly through Georges Mikautadze, who struck low from the edge of the area to make it 2-1. But their fightback was halted in the 77th minute when Santiago Mourino was dismissed for a second yellow card following a foul on Vinicius.
Within minutes Madrid struck again, with Brahim Diaz bursting into the box and cutting back for Mbappe to finish decisively and secure the points.
Manager Xabi Alonso praised Vinicius, who has been vocal about his limited minutes in the Spaniard’s rotation policy.
“I really liked it, not just because of the goals. I’m happy for him. He had a decisive performance,” Alonso said. “I like it when I see him smiling and enjoying himself. He was close to a hat-trick. It was a hard-fought, serious game. We had to wait for our moment but the team did not let up.”
