Vinicius send Real Madrid top of Laliga

Real Madrid stumbled in the middle of the week, where the championship candidates had to settle for 0-0 against Osasuna. This subsequently meant that Real Sociedad tentatively captured first place from "Los Blancos". In Saturday's early La Liga match, Real Madrid had to try to get up against Elche, who were unbeaten at home this season.

Lucas Vázquez and Rodrygo were very aggressive at the beginning of the match, which went beyond Marcelo and Vinícius Júnior, who did not have much to do. It got the Brazilian duo after 18 minutes of play, where Rodrygo had to be replaced with an injury. Vinícius Júnior stamped in earnest into the match four minutes later.

Casemiro was caught napping as Mariano Díaz lifted a ball over him following a free kick, but the ball hit the bar, rebounding into the keeper's arms. The strong Brazilian then placed former Real Madrid goalkeeper Kiko Casilla with the greatest confidence.

After that, however, Elche took the initiative in the fight. The underdogs thus had several fine opportunities to equalize before the match referee whistled for the break. The positive pace continued in the second half, where Real Madrid also prayed in the attempt to close the match. Raul Guti turned in a dismal performance, however.

When Real Madrid had taken the lead, Carlo Ancelotti tried to cement the Spanish capital club's 1-0 lead by sending defenders Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy on the pitch instead of Vázquez and Marcelo. However, it was not the fresh legs of the Real Madrid defense that were decisive for the outcome of the match.

Vinícius Júnior really became Real Madrid's man in gravy when the creative winger, who is not part of the Brazilian national team squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, received a formidable pass from Luka Modric and scored another fantastic goal - this time by lured Casilla out of his goal, after which Vinícius Júnior superiorly lobbed the ball over the 35-year-old goalkeeper.

The Real Madrid team appealed for a penalty kick with 10 minutes left in the match, but the referee of the match chose not to point to the 11-meter spot when the ball touched Enzo Roco's arm. Elche managed to embellish the result in the dying minutes of the match, but "Los Blancos" got - with a 2-1 victory in the bag - an ideal prelude to Wednesday, when Shakhtar Donetsk visit the Santiago Bernabeu for a Champions League showdown.