MADRID: Vinícius Júnior struck twice and Kylian Mbappé scored before going off injured as Real Madrid beat third-placed Villarreal 3-1 to move to the top of La Liga on Saturday.

Moments after scoring in the 81st minute, 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 ahead of defending champion Barcelona, which can reclaim the lead with a win at Sevilla on Sunday but is missing star winger Lamine Yamal due to 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 scored 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.

Girona wins to put Mallorca last

Struggling Girona picked up a much-needed win after holding on to beat Valencia 2-1 to move off the bottom.

Girona midfielder Iván Martín was sent off in the 80th minute for a second yellow card, and his teammates kept out Valencia in 10 minutes of stoppage time.

Ukrainian striker Vladyslav Vanat put Girona ahead from outside the penalty area. Diego López equalized in the second half, but Girona regained the lead shortly after through Arnau Martínez following a set piece.

Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao moved up to fifth place with a scrappy 2-1 win against Mallorca, which dropped to last.

Striker Iñaki Williams drew the foul and converted a penalty for Bilbao early.

After Samú Costa equalized in the second half, midfielder Alejandro Rego’s goal restored the lead five minutes later. Mallorca's Antonio Sánchez was sent off in the last minute.

Levante cruises to victory

Levante scored in each half in a 2-0 win at Oviedo.

Right winger Carlos Álvarez pounced in the 30th minute with a shot into the top left corner from Manu Sánchez’s cross.

Oviedo brought on 40-year-old midfielder Santi Cazorla, the former Spain international, early in the second half. But Cameroonian striker Karl Etta Eyong doubled the lead from close range following a corner.

Articles tagged with "Villarreal"

Mbappé scores, suffers injury as Real Madrid defeats Villarreal