Vinicius Junior scored twice and drew a red card for Santiago Mourino as Real Madrid returned to the top of LaLiga with a 3-1 win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu.
2025/2026 La Liga
3-1
Match Report
Kylian Mbappe joined Vinicius on the scoresheet as Madrid bounced back from their 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid last time out in LaLiga, pulling two points clear of Barcelona ahead of their trip to Sevilla on Sunday.
The best chance of the first half fell to Villarreal's Tani Oluwaseyi, but he was denied one-on-one by Thibaut Courtois, who recovered well after being sat down by the striker's dummy.
Franco Mastantuono dragged a shot wide of the near post shortly before half-time, but Madrid went ahead just three minutes after the restart as Vinicius' strike beat Arnau Tenas via a fortuitous deflection off visiting captain Santi Comesana.
Vinicius then won and converted a penalty in the 69th minute, going down under Rafa Marin's challenge near the byline then squeezing a somewhat weak kick under Tenas.
Georges Mikautadze pulled one back with a fierce 20-yard strike four minutes later, but Villarreal's hopes were quickly extinguished when Mourino – who had been cautioned for an earlier foul on Vinicius – caught the Brazilian with a flailing arm and was dismissed.
And Madrid took advantage by stretching their lead nine minutes from time, with Mbappe tucking into an empty net following a slick one-two with Brahim Diaz.
FT: @RealMadridEN 3-1 @VillarrealCFen
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) October 4, 2025
47' @vinijr
69' @vinijr (p)
73' Mikautadze
81' @KMbappe
@emirates pic.twitter.com/odmhCUT8z7
Data Debrief: Vinicius steals the show
Vinicius did not enjoy the smoothest start to the season, with new Madrid boss Xabi Alonso forced to deny rumours of a rift with the Brazil international last month.
But with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo starting on the bench, Vinicius took centre-stage with only his second LaLiga brace since the start of last season – and his first since netting a hat-trick against Osasuna last November.
Vinicius led all players on the pitch for shots (five), shots on target (four), touches in the penalty area (17) and expected goals (1.3 xG), also laying on six chances for team-mates.
Only Mbappe – who netted his ninth goal of the campaign – and Julian Alvarez of Atletico Madrid (six goals) have now outscored Vinicius (five) in LaLiga this season.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
4' Mastantuono tries to beat the defender, but his effort is cleared
7' Guler latches onto a Mbappe pass but his strike goes high over the bar
18' Match Event for Real Madrid vs Villarreal
20' Mbappe finds himself some space to shot but the effort is saved
21' Tchouameni's header from close range is inches wide of the post
22' Mastantuono's effort in the box takes deflection off the defender and flies high
27' Tchouameni's header is high over the crossbar
37' Highlight from Real Madrid vs Villarreal
41' Highlight from Real Madrid vs Villarreal
47' GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal (Vinicius Junior)
56' Highlight from Real Madrid vs Villarreal
62' Highlight from Real Madrid vs Villarreal
64' Match Event for Real Madrid vs Villarreal
69' Penalty Goal! Real Madrid 2-0 Villarreal (Vinicius Junior)
72' GOAL! Real Madrid 2-1 Villarreal
78' Red Card! Santiago Mouriño Sent Off
81' GOAL! Real Madrid 3-1 Villarreal (Kylian Mbappé)
Line-ups
Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Ceballos, Mbappe, Valverde, Militao, Tchouameni, Vinicius, Güler, Álvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen, Franco Mastantuono
Subs: Alaba, Brahim, Lunin, Fran García, Rodrygo, Camavinga, Bellingham, Gonzalo García, Raúl Asencio, Endrick, Sergio Mestre
Villarreal XI: Partey, Santi Comesaña, Pape Gueye, Arnau Tenas, Sergi Cardona, Buchanan, Rafa Marín, Alberto Moleiro, Tani Oluwaseyi, Renato Veiga, Santiago Mouriño
Subs: Parejo, Pepe, Pedraza, Manor Solomon, Diego Conde, Adrià Altimira, Georges Mikautadze, Ilias Akhomach, Luiz Júnior