Following their defeat to Lille in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, Real Madrid returned to winning ways, with a comfortable victory against a potent Villarreal side.
Luka Modric was a starter in a four-man midfield along with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior up front, while Lunin kept his place between the sticks in Courtois’ absence.
Villarreal clearly showed in the initial minutes that they were not here to defend and play on the counter attack only.
The yellow submarine tested Madrid’s defence and were able to take as many as 6 chances in the first half and also forced Lunin to make a save.
But when you are playing against Los Blancos, you have to take your chances and Real Madrid made them pay. A shot from Fede Valverde deflected off Alejandro Baena to give the home side the lead in the 14th minute.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side looked better but there were times in the opening half when Carvajal would deliver a cross from outside the box, eventually to no avail, as no player was in the final third.
Vinícius Júnior, Luka Modric and Fede Valverde were all running the show with the Brazilian in particular causing to be a menace for Kiko Femenia at right back.
Marcelino’s men yet again kicked off the second half on a positive note as they searched for the illusive equaliser but were let down by their poor finishing or decision making.
Vinícius eventually made them pay as a thunderous shot from him from distance, ended up in the back of the net to double his side’s lead and arguably put the game to bed.
But what occurred afterwards, has already overshadowed this victory. Just 6 minutes after Vinícius has scored, a tackle on him led the 24-year-old to grab onto his shoulder and call for immediate medical assistance. Arda Güler was brought on as soon as Vinicius made the signal. Carlo Ancelotti did mention that the Brazilian is in pain and he would undergo tests soon.
To make matters worse, just a few minutes before the final whistle would be blown, Dani Carvajal went ahead to win the ball against Yeremy Pino which led to both players suffering an injury.
But it was Carvajal whose injury proved to be the worst as the Spaniard literally twisted his knee and went down screaming in excruciating pain. He was stretched off and the right off the bat, it did not look good.
Even though tests will be done tomorrow, Dani Carvajal posted on a social media platform and confirmed that he had indeed suffered from a “serious cruciate ligament injury”. This is expected to keep the Real Madrid vice-captain out for the rest of the season and he would be really lucky if he returns as the same player since age is also not on the 32-year-old’s side.
The immediate backup for Dani would be Lucas Vazquez but Fede Valverde and even Eder Militao have played as right-back in the past. It will be interesting to see if Florentino Perez makes an attempt to make a signing in that position in the winter transfer window.
The bigger picture is, Real Madrid emerged victorious even though the win still did not look convincing. They will take it for now and this victory also puts FC Barcelona under pressure to do well in their next fixture.
