Vinicius Junior makes the difference as Real Madrid secure comeback victory against Espanyol

Real Madrid are continuing to keep in touch with Barcelona at the top of the La Liga standings. Despite a scare, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have come through against Espanyol, winning 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The hosts went absolutely dominant in the first half, but thanks to poor finishing from Kylian Mbappe, they were unable to find a breakthrough. That was significant, as Espanyol went into a shock lead on 54 minutes, as Thibaut Courtois diverted Jofre Carreras’ cutback into his own net.

Fortunately for Real Madrid, they managed to find a quickfire response. Jude Bellingham’s effort was not held by Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, and this gifted a goal to Dani Carvajal, as he could not miss from a yard out.

15 minutes later, the comeback was complete. Vinicius Junior came off the bench to be the difference maker for Real Madrid – first, he supplied an outrageous trivela pass to set up Rodrygo Goes to make it 2-1, before adding the third goal himself only a few minutes later.

In the dying stages, Mbappe did get his goal, which came from the penalty spot after Endrick Felipe was fouled. That capped off a fine late resurgence from Real Madrid, who close to within one point of Barcelona – they play on Sunday against Villarreal.

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