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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
Kylian Mbappe (L) of Real Madrid celebrates with teammate Vinicus Junior after scoring their club's fourth goal against Espanyol during a Spanish La Liga match at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain, September 21, 2024. /CFP
Super substitute Vinicius Junior came off the bench to score one goal and set up another, helping steer defending champions Real Madrid to a 4-1 come-from-behind win at home against Espanyol in the Spanish La Liga on Saturday.
Real dominated the proceedings, but fell behind in the 54th minute following a rare blunder by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, as the Belgian deflected a low cross from Jofre Carreras into his own net.
The hosts equalized just four minutes later, however, when Jude Bellingham's shot slipped under goalkeeper Joan Garcia, leaving Dani Carvajal free to smash it in. Bellingham missed four weeks with a muscle injury and Madrid were clearly glad to have the English star back.
Vinicius then worked his magic within three busy minutes, first lifting a brilliant cross with the outside of his foot to Rodrygo, who netted a first-touch effort in the 75th minute.
The Brazilian Ballon d'Or nominee then scored with a tidy finish after a counterattack in the 78th minute.
Substitute Endrick was mauled by Carlos Romero in the box near the end of the match and Kylian Mbappe converted the resulting penalty kick. The 4-1 victory kept Los Blancos in second place with 14 points, one behind leaders and archrivals Barcelona, who have a game in hand.
"I think we played well. We started very well and reacted well after they scored the first goal," Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.." But I think it was a complete match on our part, as we played much better, had more rhythm with the ball, and created a lot of scoring opportunities, so I'm happy with this game."