Vinicius Junior scored twice from the penalty spot as Madrid provisionally took the lead against Barcelona, who face Girona on Monday.
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Published February 14, 2026
Vinicius Junior converted two penalties as Real Madrid moved to the top of La Liga with a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad despite being without superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappe watched the game from the bench on Saturday after missing several team practices during the week due to discomfort in his left knee.
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Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said on Friday that he was available to play but clearly had no intention of rushing the star goalscorer.
Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, absent with a hamstring injury, watched as Madrid put in a solid team performance to end the visitors’ 11-game unbeaten run in all competitions and move two points clear of Barcelona ahead of the defending champions’ visit to Girona on Monday.
Perhaps Tuesday’s team dinner at a fancy restaurant, paid for by Mbappé and Vinicius, may have helped the players focus ahead of next week’s Champions League play-offs against Benfica.
They took the lead in the fifth minute when Gonzalo Garcia lightly touched Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross. However, it was a very frustrating match for the young attacker as he was unable to capitalize on any other good opportunities.
Dean Huisen brought down Younger Herrera to concede a penalty, and Mikel Oyarzabal equalized in the 21st minute with a powerful shot high up the middle.
Four minutes later, John Aramburu grabbed Vinicius by the ankle and caused him to fall, prompting referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso to award another penalty. The Brazilian swung his body to score a penalty in the 25th minute.
Madrid captain Fede Valverde thankfully scored his third goal in the 31st minute after being left with too much space on the edge of the penalty area. This was Valverde’s first goal of the season.
Garcia should have scored again before the break with what looked like a simple tap-in from Valverde, but Vinicius made it 4-1 with his second spot-kick after the break, awarded after Aramburu was penalized for going down again.
Dani Carvajal made his long-awaited return an hour before replacing Alexander-Arnold for his first league appearance since Madrid lost 2-1 to Barcelona in October.
Vinicius thought he had completed his hat-trick when he headed in a free kick in the 90th minute, but it was ruled out for offside.
In Saturday’s other La Liga match, Borja Iglesias scored in stoppage time to give Celta Vigo a 2-2 draw with Espanyol after another goal that looked good was ruled out by VAR.
A frustrated Iglesias shook his head and smiled after his goal was ruled out for offside following a long check in the 77th minute.
His frustration increased in the 86th minute when Ramon Telaz stole the ball from fellow substitute Tillis Dolan and scored what looked to be Espanyol’s deciding goal.
However, a good run from Sergio Carreira led to Pablo Duran scoring with his heel, and Iglesias equalized in the third minute of stoppage time.
Espanyol remained in 6th place, with Celta in 7th place, one point behind.
Also on Saturday, Getafe survived an upset 2-1 win over visiting Villarreal, while 10-man Sevilla drew 1-1 with Alaves in a tough two-man clash.
