Long range efforts from Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde ensured that Carlo Ancelotti’s side bounced back from midweek defeat with a 2-0 win against Villarreal.
Scorers: Valverde 14′, Vinicius jr 73′
Real Madrid welcomed the Yellow Submarine to the Santiago Bernabeu, and after an end to end start they took the lead after 15 minutes as Federico Valverde’s long-range effort took a deflection off a Villarreal defender to fly past Diego Conde and hand the home side the lead.
Villarreal were not just going to be beaten though, and caused Los Blancos plenty of problems in the first half as they utilised wide areas to their advantage, though they rarely troubled Lunin.
Mbappé’s return to the side once again left Real Madrid with a lopsided look to their frontline, and they struggled to create much from open play, with their one goal advantage holding for almost an hour despite the best efforts of the Yellow Submarine.
However, with 17 minutes left to play Ancelotti’s side were afforded some breathing space as Vinicius Jr powered home an effort from 25 yards out, finding the top corner and easing the pressure on the Real Madrid defence.
A game ultimately settled by two moments of genuine quality rather than any impressive team football, the three points nonetheless move Real Madrid level with Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, though their Clasico rivals have a game in hand as they face Alaves on Sunday.