Real Madrid moved level with rivals Barcelona, ahead of the Blaugrana’s match on Sunday, by defeating Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday night.

Los Blancos entered the match off the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Lille in the Champions League midweek, and while they weren’t at their free-flowing best, they did manage to claim all three points against a plucky Villarreal outfit.

The home side needed just 14 minutes to open the scoring, and they did so in spectacular fashion. Luka Modric played a short corner kick back to Federico Valverde, who unleashed a stunning strike from distance that was aided by a deflection, before slotting past Diego Conde in the Villarreal goal.

Although many would have expected Real to cruise on from there, that wasn’t the case, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side finding it tough to create chances.

Jude Bellingham tried his luck with a shot that went wide of the goal later in the half, while Kylian Mbappe couldn’t get a shot off after seemingly being played in behind the Villarreal defence.

As a result Los Blancos headed into the break with the one-goal advantage, though they were handed a scare early in the half when Thierno Barry was played in and seemingly taken down in the box. However, the play was ruled offside, much to the relief of the home side and fans.

Alex Baena then tried his luck from a freekick and sent his effort wide, while Real Madrid struggled to carve out anything of note as the minutes continued to tick away.

Vinicius puts the match to bed

Vinicius put Real nerves to rest in the 73rd minute. The Brazilian received the ball just outside the area before unleashing a fierce drive that left a diving Conde with no chance.

The goal seemed to end Villarreal’s belief that they could take something from the match, with Real Madrid firmly in control in the closing stages.

Unfortunately for Real the match ended on a sour note when Dani Carvajal came together with Yeremy Pino in the closing moments. The Real legend was then forced off on a stretcher with what appeared to be a leg injury.

The result means Real move level with Barcelona atop the standings on 21 points, with the Blaugrana set to take on Alaves on Sunday. As for Villarreal, they remain third with 17 points.