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Real Madrid
Finished
Villarreal
Ancelotti’s men settled the game with two spectacular strikes from outside the box from the Uruguayan, with a training ground move, and the Brazilian’s breathtaking right-footed shot.
Real Madrid will head into the international break having taken all three points against third-placed Villarreal at the Bernabéu. Ancelotti‘s men secured the win with two superb strikes from outside the box. The first was by Valverde after a well-rehearsed move from a corner-kick and in the second half and Vini Jr. scored with a spectacular right-footed finish. Madrid extended their unbeaten run in LaLiga to 41 games (30 wins and 11 draws). The victory came at a cost though, as Carvajal sustained an injury in the final minute of the game.
The Whites took the lead early on and it was all down to Ancelotti’s work on the training ground. On the quarter-hour mark, Modrić took a short corner, Bellingham tricked the defence by letting the ball run past him and Valverde did the rest. The Uruguayan hit a fierce first-time strike from outside the area which flew past Diego Conde with the help of a deflection off Baena. Three minutes later, Villarreal almost equalised, but Pépé’s header crashed against the crossbar.
Chances
Midway through the first half, Madrid began to press higher up the pitch and throttled the visitors’ hopes of playing out from the back to quickly regain possession. This led to another chance in the 31st minute. Camavinga robbed the ball and fed Vini Jr. who skipped past Kiko F. and fired in a shot that almost caught out Diego Conde. Three minutes later, Ancelotti’s men had the chance to extend their lead from another set piece. Modrić delivered a free-kick and Rüdiger ‘s header flew just over. Mbappé then had a golden chance when one-on-one with the keeper in the 39th minute after some neat link-up play with Vini Jr. from a swift counter-attack, but the keeper was quick off his line to deny the Frenchman.
Vini Jr.’s wondergoal
The second half proceeded at a more subdued pace and there were hardly any clear-cut chances until Vini Jr.’s moment came. In the 70th minute, the Brazilian picked up the ball on the edge of the box and swerved a strike into the top corner giving Diego Conde no chance. The Whites emerged victorious from a tough encounter as they head into the international break. The downside came in stoppage time when Carvajal was stretchered off in considerable pain and received a standing ovation from the home fans.