Watch: La Liga: Vinicius and Mbappe Shine as Madrid Crush Espanyol, Barcelona Edge Villarreal

Vinicius Junior played a pivotal role in Real Madrid’s 4-1 comeback victory over Espanyol on Saturday, bringing them within a point of La Liga leaders Barcelona. Starting on the bench, the Brazilian assisted Rodrygo Goes for a goal and then scored one himself after Espanyol had taken the lead through a Thibaut Courtois own goal early in the second half.

Dani Carvajal equalized soon after Espanyol’s lead, but it was Vinicius who took control, with Kylian Mbappe later adding a penalty to seal Madrid’s win. Hansi Flick’s side, aiming to maintain their perfect record, face unbeaten Villarreal on Sunday in hopes of regaining a four-point lead.

“We had trouble scoring in the first half, but we created a lot of chances,” midfielder Luka Modric told Real Madrid TV. “The team played great… it’s a good win, but we need to keep this up.”

The win extended Real Madrid’s unbeaten La Liga streak to 38 games, with their last defeat coming against Atletico Madrid in September 2023. Modric added, “It shows our quality, character, and the team’s commitment. Everyone is ready when called upon, and that’s crucial.”

Carlo Ancelotti rested Vinicius at the start of the match, favoring Arda Guler alongside Mbappe and Rodrygo. Despite controlling much of the first half, Madrid couldn’t break through, with Mbappe creating several chances but being denied by Espanyol’s goalkeeper Joan Garcia. Frustrations grew, and Mbappe was even booked for protesting a referee’s call.

In the second half, after Espanyol took a shock lead in the 54th minute when Courtois deflected Jofre Carreras’ cross into his own net, Ancelotti brought on Vinicius. Carvajal quickly leveled the score before Vinicius set up Rodrygo with a brilliant outside-of-the-boot cross. Mbappe then assisted Vinicius for Madrid’s third goal, and the Frenchman later converted a penalty to complete the win.

Meanwhile, Barcelona extended their perfect start to the La Liga season with a 5-1 thrashing of Villarreal, led by Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, who both scored twice. The victory kept Barcelona four points clear of Real Madrid. However, the win was marred by a potentially serious knee injury to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who was stretchered off.

“We fear it could be a major injury,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told DAZN. “It didn’t look good.”

Lewandowski scored Barcelona’s first two goals, missing a penalty later, while Ayoze Perez pulled one back for Villarreal. Barcelona’s Pablo Torre and Raphinha added to the scoreline, cementing the team’s dominance despite Villarreal’s fightback, which included two disallowed goals.

Following their win over Espanyol, Real Madrid’s focus now shifts to maintaining their challenge for the title, while Barcelona hope that Ter Stegen’s injury will not significantly hamper their campaign despite their strong start.