Real Madrid return to La Liga summit with victory over Villarreal

Real Madrid 3-1 Villarreal

Real Madrid have returned to winning ways in La Liga, having secured victory over Villarreal in their clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It was a frustrating first half for Real Madrid, who were not able to find a way to break down the Villarreal defence. Franco Mastantuono had their best chance, but he was denied by a brilliant block from Renato Veiga, while at the other end, Thibaut Courtois made a huge stop to deny Tani Oluwaseyi.

And the visitors were made to pay for that missed opportunity, as Real Madrid took the lead two minutes into the second half. It came from Vinicius Junior, whose effort flew into the back of the net via a big deflection from former Los Blancos defender Rafa Marin.

Those two were involved in Real Madrid’s second too, as Marin was adjudged to have fouled Vinicius inside the penalty area – the Brazilian stepped up to score his brace from 12 yards, having convinced Kylian Mbappe to let him take the spot-kick.

That gave Real Madrid a cushion, but it has only lasted a matter of minutes as Villarreal got a goal back courtesy of Georges Mikautadze. However, any momentum evaporated shortly after as Santiago Mourino was sent off for a second yellow card, and to make things worse for the visitors, Kylian Mbappe made it 3-1 after being set up by substitute Brahim Diaz – although his joy was short-lived as he was forced off with an injury immediately after.

Real Madrid return to the top of La Liga – for now

That result means that Real Madrid are back to the summit of the La Liga standings, although they would lose that place again if Barcelona were to secure victory themselves when they take on Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Sunday afternoon. As for Villarreal, they remain in 3rd place.