Vinicius scores brace as Real Madrid beat Villarreal 3-1

Vinicius Junior fired Real Madrid to the apical of La Liga with a brace successful a 3-1 triumph implicit Villarreal connected Saturday, portion Kylian Mbappe was besides connected target.

Los Blancos moved 2 points wide of champions Barcelona, who sojourn Sevilla connected Sunday, arsenic they bounced backmost from past week’s derby drubbing.

Having returned from their agelong midweek travel to Kazakhstan, wherever they bushed Kairat successful the Champions League, Madrid turned their absorption backmost to home matters.

Thrashed 5-2 by metropolis rivals Atletico Madrid past weekend, Xabi Alonso’s broadside had plentifulness to beryllium against a beardown Villarreal team, who are third.

“I played precise good and I privation to proceed similar this, keeping this assurance and doing adjacent more,” Vinicius told Real Madrid TV.

The winger did not commencement the play good but has recovered signifier successful caller outings.

“We person bully feelings… erstwhile we travel backmost (from the planetary break) we person large games and we request confidence,” added Vinicius.

Alonso brought Fede Valverde backmost into the team, playing him astatine right-back successful the lack of injured duo Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Madrid had the amended of a slow-paced archetypal fractional astatine the Santiago Bernabeu.

Teenage attacker Franco Mastantuono mightiness person sent Los Blancos up but Villarreal defender Renato Veiga blocked his changeable aft Mbappe chopped the shot backmost to him.

At the different end, Thibaut Courtois saved superbly from Tani Oluwaseyi, who snuck successful down the centre-backs but could not bushed Madrid’s Belgian goalkeeper.

Mastantuono, signed from River Plate successful the summer, drilled narrowly wide of the adjacent station earlier the break.

Los Blancos took the pb aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional done Vinicius, whose changeable took a fortunate deflection disconnected Santi Comesana and flew past the helpless Arnau Tenas.

Xabi Alonso brought connected Jude Bellingham for the last 25 minutes, aft benching him for the 2nd crippled moving pursuing the Atletico debacle.

Thomas Tuchel near the midfielder retired of his England squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers this week, and helium was retired to beryllium a point.

– Tenas absorption –

Madrid doubled their pb erstwhile Rafa Marin brought down Vinicius successful the country and the Brazilian bushed Tenas from the spot. The erstwhile Barcelona goalkeeper could person stopped the punishment but the shot slipped nether him.

Vinicius wanted different punishment erstwhile Tenas appeared to bring him down successful the container moments later, but his appeals were waved away.

Bellingham doubly came adjacent but Tenas denied him connected some occasions, with the midfielder kicking a station successful frustration.

Villarreal pulled a extremity backmost done Georges Mikautadze, who finished lethally from the borderline of the box, but Madrid rapidly restored their two-goal cushion.

Yellow Submarine defender Santiago Mourino was sent disconnected for a 2nd yellowish paper for a propulsion connected Vinicius arsenic helium charged down the wing, and soon Mbappe netted the third.

Brahim Diaz teed up the French superstar to rotation location his ninth league extremity of the campaign, making him the division’s apical scorer.

Mbappe was taken disconnected with an evident sound successful the last stages, successful the lone antagonistic enactment for a Madrid broadside who were bully worth for their 3 points.

Villarreal’s Comesana complained astir immoderate of the refereeing decisions which went against his side.

“It’s a shame astir the archetypal extremity which deed me, and past came the penalty, which wasn’t capable (of a foul) to springiness it,” Comesana told DAZN.

“That wounded america a lot, you lone person to look however helium threw himself down… and the reddish paper (was soft)… if it’s already hard to triumph astatine the Bernabeu, with these things it’s adjacent harder.”

AFP

The station Vinicius scores brace arsenic Real Madrid bushed Villarreal 3-1 appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.