Real Madrid extended their unbeaten streak in La Liga to 29 matches when they defeated Villarreal 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu early on October 6 (Vietnam time).
Real Madrid's 36-match unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end against LOSC Lille in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, meaning manager Carlo Ancelotti will want his players to react immediately when they return to Liga to face Villarreal.
The Yellow Submarine have started the season strongly and are only one point behind Los Blancos after eight games, so the match is not expected to be a walk in the park for Vinicius Junior and his teammates.
However, it took the home side less than a quarter of an hour to break the deadlock through Federico Valverde, who was lucky enough to see his shot from outside the box bounce off a wall of people, hit Pape Gueye and deflected past goalkeeper Diego Conde.
Villarreal almost had the perfect answer a few minutes later when Nicolas Pepe headed against the crossbar.
The visitors gradually improved as time went on, working to escape the pressure from the hosts. But apart from another Pepe shot being easily saved by Andriy Lunin, the yellow team had little chance of equalising before the break.
At the other end, Jude Bellingham curled a shot wide of the post, still missing his first goal of the 2024-2025 season.
The second half started with high intensity from both sides but lacked the final product, with Alex Baena's free-kick into the side of the net coming closest to a goal.
The decisive moment of the match finally came in the 73rd minute, when Vinicius fired home from the edge of the box, leaving Conde helpless once more.
The 2-0 score temporarily brought "Los Blancos" level on points with Barcelona (21), before the Catalan team meets Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.
Real Madrid's victory was marred by an injury to Dani Carvajal. Although it is not yet known how long he will be out, the Spaniard's tears suggest the injury is quite serious.
Meanwhile, Villarreal suffered their first away defeat in La Liga this season.
After FIFA Days, Real Madrid will visit Celta Vigo, while Villarreal will host Getafe in round 10 of La Liga.
