Madrid, Oct 5: Vinícius Júnior struck twice and Kylian Mbappé scored before going off injured as Real Madrid beat third-placed Villarreal 3-1 to move on top of La Liga.
Moments after scoring in the 81st minute on Saturday, Mbappé sat down and clutched his right ankle. The France star then made a gesture with his hands to signal he could not continue. Following brief treatment he walked off unassisted and went straight down the tunnel.
The win moved Madrid two points above defending champion Barcelona, which can reclaim the lead with a win at Sevilla on Sunday but is missing star winger Lamine Yamal with a pubic injury.
Vinícius netted in the 47th when he cut in from the left and his low strike clipped the heel of Santi Comesaña before wrong-footing goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.Vinícius netted from the penalty spot in the 69th after being barged over. Mbappé is Madrid’s usual penalty taker but let him have it, and Vinícius squeezed a tame shot under the body of Tenas as he guessed correctly.
Villarreal winger Georges Mikautadze pulled a goal back with a fine shot past Courtois from 20 meters.
But the hard work was undone when defender Santiago Mouriño was sent off four minutes later for a second yellow card following a foul on Vinícius.
Villarreal then lost the ball carelessly and Mbappé swapped passes with Brahim Díaz before guiding in his 14th goal in 10 games.
Struggling Girona picked up a much-needed win after holding on to beat Valencia 2-1 to move off the bottom. (AP)
