Vinicius Junior scored a sublime long-range effort as Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday evening.
A deflected strike from distance by Federico Valverde tucked into the bottom corner to give Real Madrid a first-half lead, and Los Blancos should have added to their lead in an opening hour in which Vinicius and the returning Kylian Mbappe caused Villarreal all sorts of problems.
The side placed third in the table pushed hard for an equaliser and thought they had a penalty when Aurelien Tchouameni brought down Thierno Barry in the box, only for a marginal offside decision to override the foul.
And the chance of an upset evaporated when Vinicius picked up the ball in a central position, turned, and unleashed a thunderbolt into the top corner to get the whole of the Bernabeu on their feet in appreciation.
The only sour note on an otherwise excellent night for Real Madrid came right at the end of stoppage time, when Dani Carvajal was stretchered from the field in tears after picking up what looked like a serious injury when he mistimed a clearing kick in a challenge with Yeremi Pino out on the touchline.
The win sees Carlo Ancelotti’s side stay second, level on points with Barcelona, who play Alaves on Sunday.
Eurosport