BARCELONA: Stymied by the goalkeeper, Vinícius Júnior turned playmaker to set up a late breakthrough and help Real Madrid win at Osasuna 2-0 in the Spanish league. Vinícius, back from a one-game suspension, led Madrid’s attack while Karim Benzema rested ahead of Tuesday’s game at Liverpool in the Champions League round of 16.
Two defenders hemmed him in, but the Brazil forward flipped a pass to Valverde arriving in a second wave to steer into the net. Marco Asensio added a second goal in injury time after 18-year-old Álvaro Rodríguez stole the ball and assisted his fellow substitute.Ancelotti was without three regular starters. Rodrygo started for Benzema.
Vinícus has come out as Madrid’s top scorer with 16 across all competitions. But he failed to beat Osasuna goalie Sergio Herrera on three one-on-one situations before assisting Federico Valverde in the 78th minute at El Sadar Stadium.Luka Modric played Vinícius clear down the left side of the area.
amavinga anchored the midfield with Aurélien Tchouaméni ill, and Dani Ceballos filled in for Toni Kroos, who also rested. Osasuna, which drew at Madrid 1-1 in October, caused Madrid problems all game long with its defenders chasing the ball all over the pitch. Moi Gómez, Osasuna’s most incisive player, went close to scoring in the 63rd when the midfielder cut back outside the area and struck the post. “It is too bad, we made a huge effort, but you have to be perfect to take points in a game like this,” said coach Jagoba Arrasate, whose Osasuna is in 10th place and has reached the Copa del Rey semifinals.
Trailing 1-0, Villarreal lost Manu Trigueros to a direct red card when he swiped at the face of a rival following a collision.Midfielder Dani Rodríguez led Mallorca with two goals, both from headers.
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