Vinicius bags a brace to move Madrid top of LaLiga
Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr scored twice before a late finish from Kylian Mbappe wrapped up a 3-1 home victory over third-placed Villarreal, which finished with 10 men in Sunday's (AEDT) LaLiga clash.
Xabi Alonso's side broke the deadlock just after the break when Vinicius picked up the ball near the left byline, drove into the box and squeezed a shot in from a tight angle that deflected off Villarreal midfielder Santi Comesana.
The Brazilian forward doubled his tally from the penalty spot in the 69th minute, having been brought down by Rafa Marin, with his effort just squeezing under goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
However, four minutes later Villarreal proved it had come to Santiago Bernabeu to fight as Georges Mikautadze pulled one back with a superb low strike from the edge of the box that flew past a diving Thibaut Courtois.
The drama continued in the 77th when Villarreal defender Santiago Mourino was sent off after a second booking for a foul on Vinicius, leaving the visitors on the back foot.
The impact was immediate as Mbappe scored Madrid's third in the 80th minute after Brahim Diaz broke through and laid the ball back for the Frenchman to complete the victory.
The win took Madrid back to the top of the LaLiga table on 21 points, two clear of Barcelona, which visits Sevilla on Monday (AEST).
Villarreal is third on 16 points.
The only sour note for Madrid was an ankle injury suffered by Mbappe, which must be assessed by France's medical team during the international break, Madrid boss Xabi Alonso revealed.
Mbappe is due to link up with France for FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Iceland in the coming days, with only five goals needed for him to equal Olivier Giroud's all-time Bleus record of 57.
However, Didier Deschamps's captain could see his involvement restricted after being withdrawn for Rodrygo with seven minutes against Villarreal, with 18-year-old winger Franco Mastantuono also sustaining a knock.
"Kylian had some discomfort in his ankle and Franco has an overload in his hamstring," Alonso said. "We will see, we will keep monitoring them."
Pushed on Mbappe's chances of featuring during the international break, Alonso said: "We can't say if he will go with France or not.
"They will have to evaluate him in their national camp. If it gets complicated, he won't be able to play, but right now we can't say anything."
