MADRID: Vinicius Junior won and converted two penalties as Real Madrid thumped&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mbappe-shines-as-10man-real-madrid-hold-on-for-21-victory-at-real-sociedad" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Real Sociedad</a>&nbsp;4-1 on Saturday to move provisionally top of La Liga. An impressive performance from Trent Alexander-Arnold on his first start in two-and-a-half months also helped Los Blancos move two points clear of champions Barcelona, who visit Girona on Monday. Madrid&#39;s convincing display inflicted a first defeat for visiting American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, in his 10th match at the helm of Real Sociedad. Young striker Gonzalo Garcia and Fede Valverde were also on target for Alvaro Arbeloa&#39;s Madrid, who face an important Champions League play-off match against Jose Mourinho&#39;s Benfica on Tuesday in Lisbon. &quot;We did great work in attack and in defense... you could tell that we were defending as a team during the whole game,&quot; Valverde told Real Madrid TV. &quot;We&#39;ve had long weeks where we&#39;ve been preparing a lot, and now we will fight for La Liga and the Champions League.&quot; Fit to start his first game since early December after a thigh injury, it did not take Alexander-Arnold long to make an impact. The England defender&#39;s cross was met with a delicate finish by Garcia, starting in place of French superstar <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mbappe-double-at-villarreal-takes-real-madrid-top-of-la-liga" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kylian Mbappe</a>, who was feeling some knee discomfort. &quot;Trent is a very intelligent boy, who understands the game very well, and has quickly understood what we want from him,&quot; Arbeloa told reporters. &quot;We&#39;re lucky to have a player like this, who can play inside or outside... at set-pieces, with his kick he can set us off on the counter-attack very well, he&#39;s a great player.&quot; Real Sociedad pulled level after 21 minutes when Yangel Herrera was clumsily felled by Dean Huijsen in Madrid&#39;s box. Mikel Oyarzabal powered the spot-kick down the middle, but La Real&#39;s joy was short-lived. Vinicius won a penalty of his own at the other end when Jon Aramburu tripped him in the area and the Brazilian sent Alex Remiro the wrong way. Madrid were rampant and Valverde netted a fine third in the 31st minute, moving into space on the edge of the box and curling into the top corner. Livewire Vinicius Matarrazzo sent on Goncalo Guedes at half-time, hoping his team could mount a comeback but Aramburu conceded another penalty early in the second half. It was Vinicius running at him once more which provoked it, with the winger nutmegging Aramburu and then eagerly hitting the deck as the right-back slid in. Vinicius went for the bottom left corner this time, switching directions, and Remiro could not reach his strike. With Jude Bellingham out injured and Mbappe sitting on the bench, Vinicius seemed to have more freedom to roam and reveled in being the key attacking figure. &quot;Since I&#39;ve arrived he&#39;s had games at a really high level... he&#39;s a player who goes beyond the statistics, how he can change a game, condition opponents, the number of players he can attract&quot; said Arbeloa. &quot;(Vinicius is) one of the best in the world, I&#39;m lucky to coach him, he&#39;s a great kid with a big heart.&quot; Garcia came close to a second but Real Sociedad defender Jon Martin, who performed well individually despite his team&#39;s heavy defeat, cleared his effort off the line. Vinicius was denied a hat-trick by the linesman&#39;s flag as he used his shoulder to convert Arda Guler&#39;s crossed free-kick but had strayed just offside. &quot;The first half was tough, we weren&#39;t comfortable... and in general we did badly,&quot; Oyarzabal told Movistar after his team&#39;s unbeaten run was brought to an end. &quot;We came here in a good dynamic and doing well, a bad game doesn&#39;t have to spoil that.&quot; Earlier, Villarreal fell to a 2-1 defeat at Getafe in a blow to their hopes of a top four finish. The Yellow Submarine, currently sitting fourth, were far from their best and Mauro Arambarri sent the hosts ahead from the penalty spot shortly before the break. Martin Satriano extended Getafe&#39;s lead early in the second half, with Georges Mikautadze pulling one back for Villarreal, but Marcelino Garcia Toral&#39;s team could not find an equalizer. Real Betis, fifth, could move within four points of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mbappe-double-at-villarreal-takes-real-madrid-top-of-la-liga" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Villarreal</a>&nbsp;if they beat Mallorca on Sunday.

Real Madrid's Brazilian forward #07 Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on February 14, 2026. (AFP)

Football

Vinicius Junior scored twice from penalties as Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 4-1, taking provisional La Liga lead, while Trent Alexander-Arnold impressed in his first start since December.

Vinicius bags brace as Real Madrid take Liga lead, end Sociedad run

VILA-REAL: Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side to the top of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/spains-la-liga-to-stage-its-international-match-an-annual-event" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">La Liga</a>. Alvaro Arbeloa&#39;s team moved two points clear of arch-rivals Barcelona, who host bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo on Sunday. La Liga&#39;s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mbapp-scores-suffers-injury-as-real-madrid-defeats-villarreal" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Villarreal</a>&nbsp;side, who are now fourth. Arbeloa&#39;s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season. After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa&#39;s first match at the helm just 10 days ago after replacing Xabi Alonso, his Madrid have started to take shape. The coach has made clear how important his star players are and none has been more crucial this season than French superstar&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mbappe-matches-ronaldo-record-as-real-madrid-beat-sevilla" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mbappe</a>, who has netted 34 times across all competitions. Mbappe and Vinicius Junior &quot;are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,&quot; Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV. &quot;They&#39;re two players who... I&#39;m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing. &quot;They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing... they&#39;re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I&#39;m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.&quot; It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal&#39;s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten. Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross. At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break. Villarreal&#39;s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break. The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post. Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid&#39;s 6-1 Champions League rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort that sailed across Luiz Junior&#39;s goal and wide. The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe found the net two minutes into the second half. &#39;Nightmare for defences&#39; Vinicius came into the box from the left flank, and his low cross was blocked, but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range. &quot;They are a nightmare for defences,&quot; said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. &quot;I hope they can keep bringing joy.&quot; Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed. In stoppage time, Mbappe was felled clumsily by Alfonso Pedraza in the box and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid&#39;s victory. Mbappe&#39;s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/salah-back-in-liverpool-squad-after-afcon" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Africa Cup of Nations</a>&nbsp;final, was on the pitch to see it&nbsp;as he returned to action for his club. &quot;For you,&quot; Mbappe appeared to say to Diaz during the celebration, indicating it was a gesture of support. &quot;For me, the most important thing is that (the players) are united, we saw it last Wednesday with Vinicius&#39;s goal (against Monaco) and we saw it again today, with Brahim,&quot; Arbeloa told reporters. The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa&#39;s side. &quot;We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,&quot; admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro. Elsewhere, fifth-placed Espanyol fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia, leaving them seven points behind Villarreal.

La Liga's top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, who are now fourth.

Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top of La Liga

MADRID:&nbsp;Kylian Mbappe matched Cristiano Ronaldo&#39;s club record for goals in a calendar year and Jude Bellingham also scored as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-0 on Saturday in La Liga. French superstar Mbappe levelled Ronaldo&#39;s tally of 59 goals in 2013 by stroking home a late penalty, after Bellingham sent Madrid ahead with a first half header. The victory allowed Los Blancos, second, to cut the gap on leaders Barcelona to one point before the Catalans visit Villarreal on Sunday. Gaining a third consecutive win across all competitions, after managing just two in the previous eight games, marginally eases the pressure on coach Xabi Alonso. Sevilla, who thrashed champions Barcelona 4-1 in October, started strongly with veteran Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez heavily involved. Odysseas Vlachodimos made a fine save to thwart Fran Garcia at the other end, and as the minutes ticked by Madrid began to find more of a foothold. Bellingham headed the hosts in front at the Santiago Bernabeu after Rodrygo Goes whipped in a dangerous free-kick. The Brazilian forward was booked for diving before the break as he tumbled in the box under little pressure. Sanchez landed the ball on the roof of Thibaut Courtois&#39;s net before the break with an acrobatic effort. Sevilla coach Matias Almeyda was sent off at half-time for dissent, but his team plugged away in search of an equaliser regardless. Courtois twice denied Isaac Romero early in the second half, while Mbappe intensified his search to emulate Ronaldo&#39;s record. Mbappe headed against the crossbar and whipped a shot narrowly wide, while Vlachodimos fended off another effort from the 27-year-old on his birthday. Sevilla defender Marcao clumsily slid in to foul Bellingham after 67 minutes and was sent off for a second yellow card, hampering his side&#39;s chances of adding to Alonso&#39;s struggles. Madrid almost scored a second when Mbappe teed up Rodrygo, who lifted the ball into the air and then lashed it towards goal, but Vlachodimos superbly tipped it onto the crossbar. Eventually Mbappe got the goal he craved from the penalty spot, after Juanlu clumsily brought down Rodrygo. The forward sent Vlachodimos the wrong way as he stroked in his 59th of the year, to match Ronaldo&#39;s record. Madrid were awarded another penalty when Bellingham went down in the box but it was ruled out after a VAR review showed Sevilla defender Oso got the ball. The referee then gave Madrid another penalty as Sow fouled Rodrygo on the edge of the box, but the offence was just outside the area and it was again scrapped. Mbappe whipped the free-kick narrowly over the top corner as he tried in vain to go beyond Ronaldo&#39;s mark, but he will have to try again in 2026.

Kylian Mbappe matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s 59-goal record as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-0, with Jude Bellingham scoring first, helping Madrid close the gap on Barcelona and ease pressure on coach Alonso

Mbappe matches Ronaldo record as Real Madrid beat Sevilla

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said Kylian Mbappe is fit to play on Sunday against Alaves in La Liga, as his depleted team bid to turn around a run of bad results.&nbsp;Mbappe missed the Champions League defeat by Manchester City on Wednesday which left Madrid with just two wins in their last eight games and Alonso at risk of the sack.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;ve got Kylian back, he&#39;s ready to play, and tomorrow we&#39;ll see and decide (if he starts), that&#39;s good news obviously,&quot; Alonso said on Saturday.&nbsp;Real Madrid are without several injured players for the game in Vitoria, including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga.&nbsp;Fran Garcia, Alvaro Carreras and Endrick are also suspended. Defender Dean Huijsen is likely to return for the clash at Alaves which could define Alonso&#39;s future.&nbsp;&quot;Evidently despite the players we&#39;ve got out we have strong enough players and a strong enough team,&quot; continued the coach.&nbsp;Alonso said he hoped Madrid&#39;s current struggles, lying four points behind La Liga leaders Barca, could make them stronger.&nbsp;&quot;We are having difficulties but we can grow, if we can get past these tough times, change the dynamic, maybe in a few weeks we&#39;ll look back and think &#39;we went through a lot but it made us stronger&#39;.&quot;

Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso confirmed Kylian Mbappe is fit for Sunday’s La Liga clash against Alaves. With injuries and suspensions affecting key players, Madrid seek to reverse poor form and grow stronger through current challenges.

Mbappe back for Alonso's depleted Real Madrid

MADRID: Kylian Mbappe extended his goalscoring streak to 11 consecutive games to help Real Madrid reclaim top spot in La Liga with a 1-0 victory at nine-man Getafe on Sunday. After rivals Barcelona briefly displaced Los Blancos with a narrow win over Girona on Saturday, Xabi Alonso&#39;s side restored their two-point advantage before next weekend&#39;s Clasico. Getafe fended off Madrid until Allan Nyom was dismissed a minute after coming on, and Mbappe quickly pounced to decide the game in the 80th minute. Alex Sancris was also sent off as Getafe unravelled in the final stages. Alonso started with Brazilian star Vinicius Junior on the bench, with the Champions League clash against Juventus on Wednesday and Barca&#39;s impending visit in mind. The winger turned out to be key as a second-half substitute, with both of Getafe&#39;s red cards issued for fouls on him. &quot;Vini had a great impact ... we told him this morning he could be so important,&quot; Alonso told reporters. &quot;It was a very demanding game, coming here to face Getafe is never easy ... it wasn&#39;t the prettiest game but we did what we had to do.&quot; Mbappe returned after an ankle problem kept him out of a France World Cup qualifier earlier in the week, leading the line at Getafe&#39;s Coliseum stadium. The French forward had scored in his previous 10 consecutive appearances for club and country and found the net once again. &quot;We are very happy with how Kylian is going; he&#39;s being decisive,&quot; said Alonso. Mbappe twice came close before Getafe earned a foothold in the game and began to frustrate the visitors, stopping them from creating much danger. Only towards the end of the first period did Madrid perk up again in attack, with Soria saving from Rodrygo Goes after good work by Jude Bellingham. Getafe&#39;s goalkeeper made a good stop from a powerful David Alaba free-kick, and Fede Valverde flashed a strike across the face of the goal before half-time. Alonso sent on Vinicius in the second half, and his spark began to worry the hosts, who resorted to fouls to fend off the Brazilian. Bellingham fed Mbappe, who fired off target, and then whipped a free-kick inches wide, as Madrid remained comfortably on top. Getafe see redThe game changed when Getafe substitute Nyom, under a minute after coming on, needlessly knocked down Vinicius off the ball with his arm and was sent off. Moments after play restarted, Real Madrid took the lead. Arda Guler fed Mbappe, who was just onside, and he turned nicely before firing past Soria and in off the post for his 10th league goal of the season, leading the charts both in La Liga and in the Champions League. Getafe continued to self-destruct and Sancris was sent off for a second yellow card, gained for another unnecessary foul on Vinicius, leaving Jose Bordalas&#39;s side with nine men. Alvaro Carreras fired wide after a cheeky scoop over the defence by Vinicius, whom Getafe fans booed. Despite their significant numerical disadvantage, the hosts had one golden chance to level in stoppage time, but Thibaut Courtois saved from Englishman Abu Kamara with his knee. &quot;We should not give away this chance, but Thibaut did his job,&quot; said Alonso. Getafe coach Bordalas said he did not believe Nyom deserved to be dismissed before Madrid&#39;s opener. &quot;Nyom&#39;s red card changed the game,&quot; said the Getafe coach. &quot;For me, it&#39;s not a red card, yellow at most.&quot; Elsewhere, newly-promoted Elche continued their good start to the season with a 0-0 draw against Athletic Bilbao, which left them seventh, one place above their Basque opponents. Rayo Vallecano climbed into 10th with a 3-0 win at Levante, while struggling Real Sociedad snatched a late 1-1 draw at 10-man Celta Vigo.

The 80th-minute strike sealed Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over nine-man Getafe, extending Mbappe's scoring streak to 11 games and restoring Madrid’s La Liga lead ahead of the upcoming Clasico against Barcelona.

Mbappe sends Real Madrid top as Getafe self-destruct

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe will undergo medical examinations on his right ankle when he meets up with his international team-mates ahead of the latest round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers, France coach Didier Deschamps said on Monday.&nbsp;The France captain sustained the knock at the end of Real Madrid&#39;s 3-1 La Liga victory over Villarreal on Saturday, casting doubts over his availability to the national team for their upcoming qualifying matches against Azerbaijan and Iceland.&nbsp;&quot;I spoke with Kylian, he had a small niggle but it&#39;s not serious, otherwise he wouldn&#39;t be here today,&quot; Deschamps told reporters at the French team&#39;s Clairefontaine base near Paris.&nbsp;&quot;We will take the time with the medical staff to assess the situation and then see how it develops.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t have any further information at this stage as the players will be arriving around 4pm, so we&#39;ll take stock then as usual,&quot; he added.&nbsp;Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is also due to undergo tests, after coming off injured in the Reds&#39; 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday.&nbsp;Les Bleus are top of their group with two wins from two so far in qualifying.&nbsp; They host Azerbaijan on Friday at Paris Saint-Germain&#39;s Parc des Princes stadium before travelling to Iceland three days later.

France coach Didier Deschamps said Kylian Mbappe will undergo ankle tests after a knock with Real Madrid, though the injury seems minor.

Articles tagged with "Kylian Mbappe"

Vinicius bags brace as Real Madrid take Liga lead, end Sociedad run

Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top of La Liga

Mbappe matches Ronaldo record as Real Madrid beat Sevilla

Mbappe back for Alonso's depleted Real Madrid

Mbappe sends Real Madrid top as Getafe self-destruct

Mbappe to undergo ankle tests ahead of France’s World Cup qualifiers