Vinícius Júnior scored twice and Kylian Mbappé added another before limping off injured as Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 3-1 on Saturday to climb to the top of the La Liga table.

Mbappé appeared to twist his right ankle shortly after scoring in the 81st minute. The French forward sat down in pain, gesturing that he could not continue, before walking off unassisted and heading straight down the tunnel for treatment. His condition will be assessed further by the club’s medical staff.

The victory moved Madrid two points clear of defending champions Barcelona, who can reclaim the lead with a win at Sevilla on Sunday. Barcelona, however, will be without young winger Lamine Yamal, sidelined with a pubic injury.

After a goalless first half, Vinícius broke the deadlock in the 47th minute, cutting in from the left before his low shot deflected off Santi Comesaña and wrong-footed goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.

Madrid’s momentum suffered a brief setback when defender Santiago Mouriño was sent off just four minutes later after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Vinícius.

Despite being down to ten men, Madrid doubled their lead when Mbappé combined smartly with Brahim Díaz to slot home his 14th goal in 10 games. Moments later, Vinícius converted from the penalty spot in the 69th minute after being barged over in the box. Although Mbappé is the regular penalty taker, he allowed Vinícius to take the shot — and the Brazilian squeezed it under Tenas to make it 3-0.

Villarreal pulled one back through Georges Mikautadze, who fired a fine long-range strike past Thibaut Courtois from 20 meters out, but it proved only a consolation.

The win keeps Real Madrid’s title ambitions firmly on track, though attention will now turn to Mbappé’s fitness ahead of their upcoming fixtures.