Vinicius Junior got here off the bench to attain one and help one other as Actual Madrid battled from behind for a 4-1 fightback victory over Espanyol in LaLiga.
Madrid dominated proceedings on Saturday however fell behind within the 54th minute after a uncommon blunder by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who inadvertently deflected a low cross from Jofre into his personal web.
Carlo Ancelotti’s aspect discovered an equaliser simply 4 minutes later, nonetheless, with a close-range strike by Dani Carvajal on the follow-up from Jude Bellingham’s cross.
Vinicius labored his magic quickly after, lifting an excellent cross to Rodrygo – who netted with a Seventy fifth-minute first-time effort – earlier than scoring himself with a tidy end from a counter-attack solely three minutes later.
Kylian Mbappe completed off the win from the penalty spot after substitute Endrick was fouled contained in the field within the ninetieth minute.
Madrid stay second on 14 factors, one behind leaders Barcelona, who’ve a sport in hand and go to fourth-placed Villarreal on Sunday.
5 – Actual Madrid have grow to be the primary group to attain 5 targets from penalties after their first six video games of a LaLiga season in the whole twenty first century. Infallible. pic.twitter.com/aVuGEobZD5
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 21, 2024
Information Debrief: Penalty perfection for Madrid and Mbappe
Mbappe has scored three of his 4 targets from 12 yards in Spain’s prime division, making him simply the second Los Blancos participant to attain from the penalty spot in three consecutive LaLiga matches this decade.
Former worldwide team-mate Karim Benzema was the opposite Madrid participant to handle to take action, between March and April 2022 (additionally three), and Mbappe shall be hoping to observe in his countrymen’s footsteps.
Vinicius’ affect shouldn’t be ignored, nonetheless, with the Brazil winger scoring and aiding in the identical sport as an alternative choice to the primary time in his Madrid profession throughout all competitions (272 appearances).
That pair ensured a dominant outing for comeback kings Madrid, who collected an enormous 4.49 anticipated targets (xG) to Espanyol’s minimal 0.24.
