Vinicius Inspires Real Madrid’s 3-1 Victory Over Villarreal

On a brilliant brace by Vinicius Junior and late goal by Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid was back on top of La Liga with a 3-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday. The outcome put Los Blancos two points over defending champions Barcelona who take on Sevilla on Sunday and gave a resounding answer to the 5-2 loss to Atletico Madrid last week.

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Having had a hectic midweek trip to the champions leagues to Kazakhstan to play Kairat, the men led by Xabi Alonso had their domestic work to do and they needed to underscore the point. Villarreal, in the third spot in the table, had come to the Santiago Bernabeu with a mission of testing the stamina of Madrid, but Vinicius took the centre stage with an authoritative performance that left all doubts as to his early season performance squashed.

The Brazilian forward said that he felt very good and wanted to retain this confidence in the future, according to Real Madrid TV. It is crucial to create momentum, as we have big games following the international break.

Head coach Xabi Alonso added his own complimentary words to the same, highlighting how Vinicius was increasingly becoming a force: “He was decisive, he was decisive, that is what we needed of him today.

The changes in the lineup of Alonso were also rewarded. Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold were injured, thus Fede Valverde was moved to right-back, which gave balance on the right, in defense and attack. First half was tentative, yet Madrid seemed better in general. Villarreal defender Renato Veiga denied a clever cut-back by Mbappe to young forward Franco Mastantuono and Thibaut Courtois saved a draw with a fantastic save by Tani Oluwaseyi.

Shortly after halftime Madrid broke the tie. The shot by Vinicius defied Santi Comesana in an evil fashion and left Villarreal goalkeeper Arnau Tenas out of position, putting Madrid a goal in front of their opponent, 1-0. Alonso introduced Jude Bellingham later in the last 25 minutes and sat the Englishman out of the second consecutive match. Bellingham was not selected in the England team to play qualifiers in World Cup, and it appeared as if he had a point to prove, yet he failed twice through reflex actions of Tenas.

Vinicius gave Madrid a double advantage of the penalty caused by being knocked down by Rafa Marin. Alonso disclosed that it was their mutual decision to leave Vinicius to take the spot-kick, although Mbappe usually takes them. The Brazilian calmly passed the ball below Tenas to score his second of the night. A little bit later Vinicius demanded another penalty after being entangled by Tenas, although the referee motioned play on.

Villarreal momentarily restored hope as Georges Mikautadze used a strike that was accurate and past Courtois to tie it to 2-1. Nonetheless, a possible comeback was soon lost after defender Santiago Mourino was carded the second yellow card after shoving Vinicius. After Villarreal had been reduced to ten men, Madrid closed the victory with Mbappe scoring his ninth league goal – converting Brahim Diaz, to become the leader in the La Liga scoreline.

The sole worry of Real was towards the end of the match as Mbappe hobbled off with ankle pain. Alonso confirmed that he already had some pain in that area, but still he will be a member of his national team.

Comesana of Villarreal complained of poor refereeing and the soft calls that awarded Madrid the first goal and penalty. In his interview with DAZN, he said that it is hard as it is to win in the Bernabeu, however with such calls, it is nearly impossible.

Nevertheless, the victory of Real Madrid was not unjustified regardless of those protests, a self-confident, calm play that confirmed their title ambitions at the eve of the international break.