Real Madrid beat Villarreal thanks to goals from Valverde and Vinicius

MADRID —

Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior fired shots from outside the area to help Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday in a Spanish league clash in which the Whites suffered an injury to Dani Carvajal.

Valverde celebrated his second goal of the season with a calculated move as Luka Modric played him a pass from a corner which he connected with a powerful right hand that Alex Baena narrowly saved to open the scoring in the 14th minute.

Vinicius was present in the 73rd minute, firing a right-footed shot from three quarters that hit the post and went past goalkeeper Diego Conde. It was the Brazilian striker’s fourth goal of the season.

But the victory was overshadowed after Carvajal left the field on a stretcher in injury time, having suffered a right knee injury after a collision with Jeremi Pinault. Brazilian Vinicius was also substituted after taking a hit to his right shoulder.

“It looks like it’s a pretty serious knee injury and will have to be assessed in the next few hours,” Merengue coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “What happened is what happens on the calendar many times; “Unfortunately, a very important player for us has left.”

The Merengue side returned to winning ways after losing 1-0 in midweek when visiting Lille on day two of the Champions League. With this victory they are level with leaders Barcelona with 21 points, who will visit Alaves on Sunday.

“It’s a shame. In the end, the result is the least important. Carva’s health is what matters… We’ll see what they say in the dressing room,” Valverde said.

“It’s a shame. At the end of the day, the result is the least important thing. Carva’s health is what matters… We’ll see what they say in the dressing room,” Valverde said. “It was a good match. It was neither good nor bad; the right decision for victory,” added Valverde. “It was enough to score two goals, but the worry lies elsewhere.”

Real Madrid continues its unbeaten march in the local season, in which it has already gone 41 days without defeat; This is two less than the 43 mark set by Barcelona in 2018.

Villarreal (the last team to beat the Whites at the Santiago Bernabeu 3-2 on April 8, 2023) remained in third position with 17 points.

The Yellow Submarine, led by strategist Marcelino García Toral, broke a streak of 23 league matches without scoring at least one goal.

Valverde’s first goal was a relief for the hosts, who had been saved from the drop by Baena’s poor goal minutes earlier; After they went down they had some very dangerous headers from Nicolas Pepe and Tierno Barry.

Kylian Mbappe had a chance to extend his lead in the first half but was the victim of a superb save from Conde to deny him the ball in a one-on-one situation.

French star Mbappe was substituted in the 70th, shortly after Vinicius scored as a centre-forward.

LIGHTNING WON

Jorge de Frutos scored a brace (57 and 80 minutes) to give Rayo Vallecano a 2-1 comeback at Valladolid.

Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez came on for Vallecano in the 77th minute for Isi Palazon.

The victory leaves Rayo in eighth position with 13 points.

Valladolid, who took the lead thanks to a goal from Selim Amallah (51), are in 19th place with five points.

In other results, Espanyol beat Mallorca 2–1; Celta beat Las Palmas 1-0 and Getafe drew 1-1 with Osasuna.