Vintage Vinicius Fires Real Madrid Back to Summit with Brace Against Villarreal
Real Madrid reclaimed the top spot in La Liga on Saturday night, spurred by an influential double from the rejuvenated Vinicius Junior in a decisive 3-1 victory over third-placed Villarreal.
The win, which also featured a late strike from superstar Kylian Mbappé, propelled Los Blancos two points clear of arch-rivals Barcelona, who are set to travel to Sevilla on Sunday.
The result marked a significant turnaround for Xabi Alonso’s squad, banishing the memory of last week’s humiliating 5-2 city derby defeat to Atlético Madrid. After a challenging midweek jaunt to Kazakhstan for a Champions League clash with Kairat, the team focused their energies back on domestic duties at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Vinicius Junior, who has recently found a rich vein of form after a slow start to the season, expressed his satisfaction post-match.
“I performed very well, and I intend to maintain this momentum, keeping this confidence and striving for even more,” the winger told Real Madrid TV. “We have positive vibes… When we return [from the international break], we face crucial matches, and we need self-belief.”
Manager Xabi Alonso made a tactical adjustment, deploying Fede Valverde at right-back to cover for the injured defensive pair of Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The first half was a cagey affair. Madrid’s summer signing, teenage forward, Franco Mastantuono, came close, only for his shot—following an Mbappé cutback—to be expertly blocked by Villarreal defender Renato Veiga.
At the opposite end, Belgian shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois produced a magnificent save to thwart Tani Oluwaseyi, who had breached the central defense.
Mastantuono then drilled a shot just wide before the interval.
The breakthrough arrived early in the second half courtesy of Vinicius, whose effort took a fortunate deflection off Villarreal’s Santi Comesaña, wrong-footing the diving former Barcelona keeper, Arnau Tenas.
Alonso then introduced Jude Bellingham, benching the midfielder for the second consecutive fixture following the Atlético debacle. Fresh off being omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, Bellingham was visibly eager to make an impression.
Madrid extended their advantage when Rafa Marín conceded a penalty for fouling Vinicius in the box.
The Brazilian slotted the resultant spot-kick beneath Tenas, who arguably should have saved it. Vinicius was denied a second penalty moments later despite strong appeals after another apparent challenge by Tenas.
Though Bellingham went close twice—both times thwarted by excellent saves from Tenas, leading him to kick a post in frustration—Villarreal managed to halve the deficit through Georges Mikautadze’s lethal finish from the edge of the area.
However, the Yellow Submarine’s hopes were quickly extinguished. Defender Santiago Mouriño was dismissed for a second yellow card after shoving Vinicius, who was accelerating down the flank. Almost immediately, Mbappé sealed the victory, tapping home his ninth league goal of the season after being set up by Brahim Díaz, making him the division’s leading marksman.
The only sour note for Madrid was Mbappé’s withdrawal late on with an apparent knock, though the three points were well-deserved.
Villarreal midfielder Comesaña lamented the key decisions that went against his side. “It’s disappointing about the first goal, which hit me, and then came the penalty, which was soft,” he told DAZN. “That damaged us severely; you only need to see how he went down… and the red card [was harsh]… if it’s already tough to win at the Bernabéu, with these incidents it’s even more difficult.”
