Daily Times

Fede Valverde and Vinicius Junior strikes helped Real Madrid bounce back from their first defeat since January with a 2-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday in La Liga.

Los Blancos lost in the Champions League at Lille but are still unbeaten in the Spanish top flight and moved level with leaders Barcelona, before the Catalans visit Alaves on Sunday.

Valverde’s deflected effort and a rocket from Vinicius allowed Madrid to put a four-point gap between them and their third-placed opponents, who battled well but came up fractionally short in the capital. Madrid’s victory was marred by a late injury to defender Dani Carvajal, who had to be taken off on a stretcher. “It seems a serious knee injury, it will be looked at in the coming hours,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters.

“The players are sad, worried, because something happened that happens a lot, because of the (busy) calendar, and it happened to a very, very important player for us.”

Ancelotti said Vinicius would also have medical tests after being taken off late on with discomfort in his shoulder and neck. The Italian coach started Kylian Mbappe after the French striker had recovered from a thigh problem. The former Paris Saint-Germain striker could only appear from the bench in Madrid’s disappointing midweek display. Mbappe, who France have not selected for upcoming Nations League fixtures, was quiet at the Santiago Bernabeu as his team ground out victory with a determined, rather than inspiring, performance.