A brace from Vinicius Jr. helped Real Madrid secure a 3-1 home victory over Villarreal on Saturday, a result that sends them to the top of the La Liga table. Kylian Mbappe added a late goal for Madrid, bouncing back from the derby defeat last weekend. The win moves Xabi Alonso's side to 21 points, two clear of Barcelona, who play Sevilla on Sunday. Villarreal remains third in the standings with 16 points.
After a goalless first half, Vinicius broke the deadlock just two minutes after the restart. The Brazilian cut in from the left and his shot took a deflection off Villarreal midfielder Santi Comesana, wrong-footing the goalkeeper. Vinicius doubled Real Madrid's lead from the penalty spot in the 69th minute, converting his kick after being brought down in the box by Rafa Marin. Villarreal responded four minutes later when Georges Mikautadze scored with a low strike from the edge of the area to make it 2-1.
The game's decisive moments came late in the second half. In the 77th minute, Villarreal defender Santiago Mourino was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Vinicius, reducing the visitors to 10 men. Real Madrid capitalized on the advantage just three minutes later, as substitute Brahim Diaz set up Kylian Mbappe to score the third goal. The victory was slightly tempered by an injury concern for Mbappe, who limped off with an ankle issue in the final stages.
After the match, Vinicius expressed his satisfaction with his contribution. "I played very well and I want to continue like this, keeping this confidence and doing even more," the forward told Real Madrid TV. Coach Xabi Alonso praised the forward's impact, telling reporters, "Vini had a very good game and he was decisive, I'm very happy for him." Alonso also confirmed Mbappe had "a little discomfort in his ankle" but was expected to join the French national team.
Villarreal's Santi Comesana expressed frustration with several key refereeing decisions that went against his side. "It's a shame about the first goal which hit me, and then came the penalty, which wasn't enough (of a foul) to give it," Comesana told DAZN. "That hurt us a lot... and the red card was soft... if it's already hard to win at the Bernabeu, with these things it's even harder."
