Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid: Vinicius brace delays Barca's LaLiga coronation

Real Madrid delayed Barcelona's seemingly inevitable LaLiga coronation, as Vinicius Junior's brace secured a 2-0 win over Espanyol.

Vinicius struck twice in the second half at RCDE Stadium to keep Los Blancos' faint title hopes alive for at least another week, though they will hand it to Barca should they fail to beat the Blaugrana in next weekend's Clasico.

The Brazilian almost opened the scoring in the eighth minute, when his acrobatic volley crashed against the post via a slight deflection off Omar El Hilali.

El Hilali was shown a red card for a rash challenge on Vinicius in the 25th minute, though it was downgraded to a yellow by referee Jesus Gil Manzano following a VAR review.

Andrii Lunin made a superb reflex save to thwart Leandro Cabrera's header in first-half stoppage time. However, it was Madrid who broke the deadlock in the 55th minute, when Vinicius slotted past Marko Dmitrovic after a neat one-two with Gonzalo Garcia.

Vinicius made it 2-0 and ultimately put the game beyond the hosts midway through the second half. Once again, he executed a one-two – this time with Jude Bellingham – before arrowing into the top corner.

Data Debrief: Vinicius the scourge of Espanyol again

Vinicius has now been directly involved in eight goals (five goals, three assists) in his last seven LaLiga appearances against Espanyol.

The Brazilian took his goal tally in all competitions in 2026 to 16, more than any other player in LaLiga, while only Harry Kane (24) has netted more among players in the big five European leagues.

As for Espanyol, they are still yet to win a LaLiga match this calendar year, with Metz the only other team in the top five European leagues without a victory.