Real Madrid win the chasing duel against Villarreal in the 9th round of La Liga. Thanks to the 2:0 win, the champions move up to FC Barcelona.
After nine games, the Madrilenians have the same number of points as arch-rivals Barça, but have played one game more than the Catalans. The league leaders can follow suit at Alaves on Sunday.
Federico Valverde with a spectacular long-range strike after just under a quarter of an hour and Vinicius Junior a quarter of an hour before the end - also from outside the penalty area - secured Real's fifth win in their fifth home game.
Three days after the surprising 1-0 defeat in the Champions League in Lille, the Madrilenians were without the injured Thibaut Courtois but with Kylian Mbappé in the starting eleven. The French superstar and captain of the national team had not been named by coach Didier Deschamps for the international matches against Israel and Belgium due to a muscle injury. Now the 25-year-old has apparently recovered faster than expected.
SDA
