Real Madrid’s title fight resumed on Saturday with a tricky 3-1 victory over Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu. The victory was crucial for Los Blancos, who had fallen out of form recently, but they were able to turn things around mainly to a fantastic effort by Vinicius Junior.
Espanyol took the lead in the eighth minute when Joselu Mato scored, but Real Madrid refused to go down without a fight. Vinicius Junior, who was in excellent form throughout the game, equalised in the 22nd minute, before Éder Milito put Madrid leading for good in the 39th.
Vincius Jnior had the most shots (6), touches in the opponent’s box (16), take-ons attempted (7), and chances created (4) during the game. The Brazilian attacker also scored an important goal.
In addition to Vinícius Júnior’s heroics, substitute Marco Asensio added a third goal in stoppage time to seal the victory for Real Madrid. The win was a crucial one for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who reduced Barcelona’s lead to six points before the front-runners visit Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Real Madrid will now turn their attention to their upcoming Champions League match against Liverpool on Wednesday, with Madrid holding a 5-2 advantage from the first leg of the round of 16. The Spanish giants will then visit Barcelona on March 19 in yet another “el clásico” game in the season.
One of the standout performers for Real Madrid was defender Éder Militão, who scored his sixth goal of the season in the match against Espanyol. The Brazilian defender had his best scoring season with Porto in 18/19 with 5 goals, but has surpassed that tally this season with Real Madrid scoring 6 times now.
Real Madrid defender Nacho also had a great game, stating after the match, “I always give everything. Everyone knows this is my home. I’m happy because I’ve been playing for a while. Logically the happiness I have been defending this shirt, I want to enjoy things like this.” Nacho also received a rousing reception from the home crowd, with the fans chanting his name as he assisted Asensio in the stoppage time.
