Real Madrid claimed an eighth successive home win in LaLiga and moved top of the table with a 3-1 victory over Villarreal.
Xabi Alonso’s side were looking to recover from a sobering derby defeat to Atletico Madrid in their previous LaLiga outing, returning to the Bernabeu where they have been imperious in recent months.
Los Blancos looked to strike early here, as Arda Guler rifled his angled strike over the bar following a neat one-two with Kylian Mbappe.
Marcelino’s side were soaking up a considerable amount of pressure, with further chances falling to Aurelien Tchouameni and Franco Mastantuono for a Real team aiming to turn the screw further.
The Yellow Submarine looked to land a sucker punch when Tani Oluwaseyi bore down on goal, and Alonso’s men had Thibaut Courtois to thank for quickly thwarting the Canada international.
The impressive Mastantuono looked to take matters into his own hands down the other end, as his scuffed attempt flew inches wide of the post in a contest that was simmering nicely heading into half-time.
It took just two minutes in the second half for Alonso’s men to find the breakthrough when Vinicius Junior made a trademark run in from the left flank, and saw his shot take a big deflection off Santi Comesana before flying past Arnau Tenas at his near post.
Alonso’s side had a chance to double their advantage when Vinicius took a tumble in the box after colliding with Rafa Marin, and his subsequent penalty squirmed through Tenas’ grasp for the Brazilian’s fourth goal in as many league meetings with the visitors.
The hosts were purring from that point onwards, and Jude Bellingham was twice denied in quick succession by Tena.
But just when Real looked to be cruising towards victory, Georges Mikautadze halved the deficit with a superb driven strike past Courtois to leave this match in the balance once again.
However, any hopes of a comeback took a huge blow when Santiago Mourino received a second yellow card for pushing Vinicius aside, leaving the visitors down to 10 men.
Mbappe got in on the act in the 81st minute to put the contest to bed, adding Real’s third following some fine link-up play with Brahim Diaz.
The Frenchman’s 14th goal in 10 appearances across all competitions, and it seemed to kick the stuffing out of Villarreal, allowing Alonso’s men to see out the remainder of the match with relative ease.
The win extended their unbeaten run in this fixture to five games (W4, D1), while Marcelino’s side saw a three-match winning streak in the league come to an end.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
