The glimmer came from Federico Valverde, with a distant, deflected shot, whose curved trajectory surprised the Villarreal goalkeeper. Otherwise, Real Madrid was not very inspired this Saturday evening. Neither did Kylian Mbappé, who started at the forefront of the Merengue attack, despite his non-selection for the French team by Didier Deschamps.
The reigning Spanish and European champion won without shining, as often this season, during the 9th day of La Liga (2-0). No stranger to long shots, midfielder Federico Valverde scored in the 14th minute, more than 25 m from the goal. On a corner played short by Luka Modric, the Uruguayan was served back and his shot blocked by Alex Baena deceived Diego Conde.
Mbappé invisible
The rage displayed by the scorer when celebrating said a lot about the state of Real Madrid in recent weeks. In difficulty, sometimes pushed around by Villarreal, the Merengue club is going through a difficult start to the season. Victory was imperative this Saturday, a few days after the rout in Lille during the second day of the group stage of the Champions League.
Kylian Mbappé, lined up from the start despite his discomfort in his left thigh, was transparent. The striker, who entered during the match against LOSC, probably did not cause any regrets in Didier Deschamps, who decided to do without him for the October gathering of the Blues. The Madrilenian was finally replaced by Rodrygo in the 71st minute. In the process, Vinicius, placed at the forefront, scored Real’s second goal, with a nice shot into the top corner (74th, 2-0).
Black point of the evening: the injury of Dani Carvajal, who seemed seriously injured in the right knee after a shock at the end of the match. Earlier, Vinicius Junior was injured in the shoulder.
With this meager success, Real Madrid returns to the level of FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga. The two teams have 21 points but the Catalan club plays on Sunday at Alavés (4:15 p.m.). He will therefore have the opportunity to regain his lead.
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