Real Madrid Extends Unbeaten Start in La Liga with Victory Over Villarreal at Santiago Bernabéu

Real Madrid Extends Unbeaten Start in La Liga

Dani Carvajal was taken off the pitch on a stretcher during added time, visibly distressed after suffering a knee injury in Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu, maintaining their unbeaten start to the La Liga season.

The right-back appeared to injure himself while colliding with Yeremy Pino, leading to a tense moment as he was carried off in tears.

Real Madrid took the lead in the 14th minute when Federico Valverde's strike from the edge of the box deflected off Alex Baena and found the bottom left corner. Villarreal came close to leveling the score shortly after, with Nicolas Pepe's header hitting the crossbar and Thierno Barry missing the follow-up.

Vinicius Junior secured the win with a powerful long-range shot into the top corner 17 minutes from time. Real Madrid had additional chances to extend their lead, but Antonio Rudiger’s header went over, and Jude Bellingham's attempt missed the target.

Villarreal felt they should have been awarded a penalty five minutes after the break when Aurelien Tchouameni fouled Barry, but the referee ruled the Villarreal forward offside. Baena nearly scored with a 25-yard free-kick that skimmed the side-netting as Villarreal pressed for a way back into the match.

With this win, Carlo Ancelotti's side has now gone 41 La Liga matches unbeaten (30 wins, 11 draws), marking the second-longest streak in league history, just behind Barcelona's 43-match unbeaten run from 2018.

As a result, Real Madrid is level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table, although Hansi Flick’s side could pull ahead by three points with a win against Alaves on Sunday at 15:15 BST.

Real Madrid Extends Unbeaten Start in La Liga with Victory Over Villarreal at Santiago Bernabéu