Vinicius Jr van Real Madrid scored twice before a late finish by Kylian Mbappe closed a 3-1 home victory on Villarreal, who ended with 10 men in the La Liga 2025-26 collision of La Liga.
Real is now at the top with 21 points, two free from Barcelona who visits Sevilla on Sunday. Villarreal is third in 16 points.
The game was broken in the early stages, but Real started to stack the pressure when the clock tapped after 20 minutes. Aurelien Tchouameni got up to meet a cross, but his header was just wide from the post.
Moments later, Mbappe hit a loose pass while the visitor tried to play from behind. The Frenchman celebrated the ball to Franco Mastantuono, whose shot from a point-white range was bent over the bar by defender Renato Veiga.
Villarreal also had opportunities in the first half when Tani Oluwaseyi broke in the box and was one-on-one with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who produced a vast rescue.
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The real side of Xabi Alonso finally broke the impasse just after the break when Vinicius took the ball near the left side, in the box and a shot in a tight corner squeezed it from the midfielder Santi Comesana of Villarreal.
The Brazilian attacker doubled his count of the criminal place in the 69th minute, after he was brought down by Rafa Marin, with his efforts that simply squeeze under goalkeeper Arnau tenas.
Four minutes later, Villarreal proved that it had come to the Santiago Bernabeu to fight when Georges Mikautadze pulled one back with a low stroke from the edge of the box.
The drama took place in the 77th when Villarreal defender Santiago Mourino was sent after a second booking for an error on Vinicius, leaving the visitor on the back foot.
The impact was immediately when Mbappe Real’s third scored in the 80th minute after Brahim broke through and put the ball back before rush hour to complete the victory.
Published on October 5, 2025
