Last updated on October 3rd, 2024 at 10:35 am
Reading Time: 2 minutesReal Madrid: After starting the game as a substitute for Thibaut Courtois, Brazil’s Vinicius scored himself to complete Madrid’s comeback after the visitors had taken the lead early in the second half thanks to an own goal by the latter.
With a “much faster” comeback to defeat Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday, Real Madrid dropped a point behind La Liga leaders Barcelona thanks to the pivotal contribution of Vinicius Junior.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti celebrated his team’s victory despite the fact that it took some time for them to gel against the tenacious Catalans, as they have struggled to find their best form this season.
After starting the game on the bench due to an own goal by Thibaut Courtois early in the second half, Vinicius, a star from Brazil, set up a goal for Rodrygo Goes and then scored the winning goal to complete Madrid’s comeback.
Soon after, Vinicius took over after Dani Carvajal pulled one back for Madrid. Kylian Mbappe scored a late penalty to give the team a four-game winning streak.
With five wins out of five games under their belt, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona will visit fourth-place Villarreal on Sunday in an attempt to reclaim their four-point advantage.
“I felt it was a good game, I am happy, we played much better, we had more chances and the players responded well to Espanyol’s goal,” Ancelotti told reporters.
Although Madrid hasn’t played at its best lately, the Italian was impressed because this performance was better than their previous ones.
Ancelotti observed, “We played much faster, touching the ball up front quicker, with some better movement.”
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“One very important weapon is mobility. We’re gradually getting back to our best selves.
With this decisive win, Madrid won 38 straight La Liga games without losing; their last league loss occurred against Atletico Madrid in September 2023, less than a year ago.
Luka Modric, the captain of Real Madrid, stated, “That says a lot. Not losing games in so many weeks is really nice, but we have to continue.”
“The most important things are quality, character, team commitment, and everyone being prepared when called upon.”
With Mbappe heavily involved and chasing his sixth goal of the season overall, Madrid had a firm hold on the first half but were unable to break through.
