Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid: Vini Jr nets double as Bellingham and Gonzalo Garcia assist

Vinícius Júnior's second-half double earned Real Madrid a 2-0 win at RCD Espanyol to delay Barcelona’s title celebrations, as Los Blancos kept a first clean sheet in LaLiga since February 8. 

Match Report

Espanyol were in the strange position of knowing they could hand the title to city rivals Barça if they took anything from the game, and they could have gone ahead inside three minutes when Roberto Fernández scuffed a shot wide from 15 yards out. The hosts did not look like a team who had failed to win any of their previous 16 matches (D6, L10) as they made a strong start, although they were grateful to see Vinícius’ deflected effort cannon off the post in the eighth minute. That chance signalled a change of momentum as Real took control, before the hosts briefly thought they had been reduced to 10 men when Omar El Hilali received a straight red card for a late challenge on Vinícius in the 25th minute. However, referee Jesús Gil Manzano downgraded it to a booking after consulting the pitchside monitor. 

The home fans’ furious reaction to that decision appeared to spark Espanyol into life, and Tyrhys Dolan blazed a good chance over the crossbar. Federico Valverde then nodded straight at Marko Dmitrović before Brahim Díaz fired over on the turn for Real, while Andriy Lunin made a brilliant save to keep out Leandro Cabrera’s close-range header in first-half stoppage time.

Real had 45 minutes to delay the Barça party, and they made the breakthrough 10 minutes after HT when Vinícius exchanged passes with Gonzalo García in the box, before slotting past Dmitrović. Ramon Terrats almost equalised instantly with an acrobatic effort, but the ball struck a team-mate and looped over the crossbar, before the midfielder curled just wide of Lunin’s far post. Vinícius would not be upstaged, though, and doubled the lead midway through the half when he took Jude Bellingham’s back-heel in his stride and fired into the top corner. It was the Brazilian’s 21st goal of the season across all competitions, and his eighth goal involvement in the past seven games against Espanyol (G5, A3).

Carlos Romero fired straight at Lunin as the hosts searched for a response, but it was in vain as they failed to score for the fourth time in five matches. This hard-fought victory ends Real’s three-game winless run on the road, but they must beat Barcelona at Camp Nou next Sunday to keep their very faint title hopes alive for another week. Meanwhile, Espanyol are still waiting for their first win of 2026 and could find themselves only three points above the bottom three if Sevilla beat Real Sociedad on Monday.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

4' Ruben Sanchez receives a quality pass and releases a rocket of a shot, but his effort goes just wide

8' Vini Jr smashed a shot from the edge of the box, but the ball only crashed against the post

10' Vini Jr is brought down by the defender from behind

14' Mendy is not able to play anymore and Fran Garcia replaces him

22' Yellow Card! Brahim Diaz goes into the book for a previous late challenge

26' Red card awarded to Omar El Hilali is reduced to a yellow following the VAR review!

41' Fran Garcia sends a cross into the box to meet Valverde, but the captain's header is saved

44' Brahim gets to a rebound and unleashes a shot inside the box, but it sails just high

49' Cabrera heads the ball towards the net, but Lunin is alert and denies the effort

50' Yellow Card! Alexander-Arnold booked as he commits a nasty foul by bringing down his opponent

54' Brahim Diaz and Thiago Pitarch go off, Gonzalo Garcia and Mastantuono come on

56' GOAL! Vini Jr waves past the defenders and unleashes a shot into the net! Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid

66' GOAL! Bellingham provides a back-heel pass to assist Vini Jr score! Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid

76' Romero's attempt around the edge of the box goes low towards the target, but Lunin makes a save

79' Mastantuono receives a pass and strikes towards the bottom corner, but the keeper denies his effort

81' Vini Jr sprays a wonderful pass out to Gonzalo Garcia, who just sends the ball over the crossbar

Line-ups

Espanyol XI: Rubén Sánchez, Cabrera, Dmitrovic, Calero, Exposito, Ramón Terrats, Tyrhys Dolan, Urko González de Zárate, Omar El Hilali, Roberto Fernández, Carlos Romero

Subs: Kike, Pere Milla, Charles Pickel, Miguel Rubio, Jofre Carreras, José Salinas, Ángel Fortuño, Antoniu Roca, Clemens Riedel, Alex Almansa, Lluc Castell, Ferran Gómez

Real Madrid XI: Rudiger, F Mendy, Alexander-Arnold, Valverde, Brahim, Lunin, Tchouameni, Vinicius, Bellingham, Dean Huijsen, Thiago Pitarch

Subs: Alaba, Fran García, Camavinga, Álvaro Carreras, David Jiménez, Gonzalo García, Raúl Asencio, César Palacios, Fran González, Sergio Mestre, Franco Mastantuono