Madrid level with Barcelona after beating Villarreal

MADRID: Real Madrid are now level with FC Barcelona in the La Liga standings after beating Villarreal CF 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday.

It looked to be a long night for Villareal after Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde hit a stunner to take the lead. Valverde received a corner from Luka Modric well beyond the box, and wasted no time, striking the ball immediately into the back of the net in the 14th minute after being deflected off a Villareal defender.

Two minutes later, Villareal were inches away from equalising. A cross from Alex Baena found Nicolas Pepe’s head, which sent the ball bouncing off the Madrid goal’s woodwork. 

Madrid would try to extend their lead in the 37th minute, with a strike from Mbappe deflecting off a defender and right back to him. He’d play the ball off to Valverde, who would set it up perfectly for Jude Bellingham to take a shot. The ball ended up just wide. 

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The boys in white would keep up the pressure, with Kylian Mbappe fighting past the Villarreal defence to enter their box, but goalkeeper Diego Conde would win the ball back with a sliding challenge.

Villareal’s Baena would get another chance at levelling the score in the second half with a free kick. He managed to lift the ball over Madrid’s defensive wall, forcing the goalkeeper into a dive. But the ball would brush the side-netting on its way wide. 

Madrid would end up extending their lead in the 73rd minute, after Viniscus Junior hit an absolutely magnificent strike from distance. After receiving a pass from Valverde, Junior had a defender closing in on his behind, with another blocking his view in front. In lieu of fighting off the defensive pressure and risk losing the ball, Junior tried his luck from beyond the box. 

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It was an incredible, powerful strike that beat the diving goalkeeper, and found the top right corner of the net. 

Real Madrid are now level with FC Barcelona in the La Liga standings, with both teams having 21 points each.