Real Madrid bounced back from their first defeat in nearly ten months by defeating Villarreal 2-0 in La Liga on Saturday, but they may have lost right back Dani Carvajal to injury. Federico Valverde and Vinícius Júnior scored for the defending champions just four days after they suffered a 1-0 loss to Lille in the Champions League, ending a remarkable 36-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
Madrid maintained their impressive record with 41 consecutive games without a loss in the Spanish league. The victory against third-placed Villarreal allowed Madrid to match Barcelona’s points total of 21, with Barcelona set to face Alaves on Sunday.
Carvajal was injured during second-half stoppage time at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium after colliding with an opponent. He appeared to indicate a serious leg injury and was visibly upset as he was carried off on a stretcher. Madrid’s coach, Carlo Ancelotti, expressed concern, stating that preliminary indications pointed to a significant knee injury. “It’s something that happens very often because of the calendar and it has happened to a very important player in our squad,” Ancelotti said, confirming that Carvajal would undergo further tests.
Valverde opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a long-range effort that deflected off a defender, while Vinícius secured the win with a strike from outside the box in the 72nd minute, finding the top corner.
In another match, Celta Vigo’s Iago Aspas was sent off during a 1-0 victory at Las Palmas, receiving two yellow cards for dissent after a red card was shown to his teammate Ilaix Moriba. Despite being a man down, Celta managed to hold on for the win, with Borja Iglesias scoring the only goal in the 28th minute.
Meanwhile, Las Palmas continued their winless streak, remaining at the bottom of the league with 23 consecutive matches without a victory. In other results, Rayo Vallecano beat Valladolid 2-1, Espanyol secured a 2-1 home win against Mallorca, and Osasuna and Getafe played out a 1-1 draw.