Real Madrid defeated 10-man Villarreal 3-1 on Saturday to record a 3-1 home victory over Vinicius Jr., but Kylian Mbappe was injured as a result after the star forward limped off just before full-time.
Real leads Barcelona by two points when Real travel to Sevilla on Sunday, while Real leads La Liga by 21 points. Third place with 16 points goes to Villarreal.
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As the clock ran out before the game was deadlocked, Real started putting pressure on themselves as the game progressed.
Aurelien Tchouameni rose to cross the post, but his header dangled just wide.
As the visitors attempted to play out from the back, Mbappe pounced on a loose pass moments later. Franco Mastantuono squared the ball to the Frenchman, who’s defender Renato Veiga deflected a point-blank shot over the bar.
Villarreal  also had some chances in the first half when goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Tani Oluwaseyi squatted in front of him in a sprawling save.
When Vinicius picked up the ball near the left byline, drove into the box, and fired in a shot from a tight angle that deflected off Villarreal midfielder Santi Comesana shortly after the break, the Real Real team finally broke the deadlock.
After being down by Rafa Marin, the Brazilian forward doubled his tally in the 69th minute, with his effort merely squeezing under goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
Four minutes later, Villarreal showed they were ready to face off at the Santiago Bernabeu with a low strike from the box headed in.
The Villarreal side went into the game on a run-in with Santiago Mourino after a second booking for a foul on Vinicius, which put the visitors on the back foot.
After Brahim Diaz broke through and laid the ball back for the striker, Mbappe scored Real’s third goal in the 80th minute to seal the victory. As Madrid watched the game end, Mbappe injured his ankle and was replaced by Rodrygo.
Source: Aljazeera
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