At the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, Real Madrid overcame a goal deficit to defeat Espanyol 3-1.
In the eighth minute, Joselu unexpectedly gave the visitors the lead, but Vinicius Junior promptly tied the score for Real Madrid by cutting inside and curling a shot into the bottom corner. Before Eder Militao headed Aurelien Tchouameni’s cross in off the bar to give the home team the lead before halftime, Madrid had twice come close to scoring a second.
Rodrygo’s free kick off the woodwork and Marco Asensio’s late strike gave Madrid the three points and some chance of catching league leaders Barcelona. The second half was much calmer.
Real Madrid’s first-half comeback was motivated by Vinicius Junior, who also scored the game’s winning goal.
Joselu, Espanyol: His squad had a chance for a surprise thanks to a flawless finish.
Real Madrid’s Rodrygo Goes was unfortunate not to score after coming close on three straight occasions and hitting the crossbar.
Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga Unnatural left-back who was taken by surprise for Espanyol’s opening strike.
Martin Braithwaite, Espanyol: On the left wing, the former Barcelona player provided nothing.
Vinicius Souza, Spanish: Unable to match the calibre of Tchouameni, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric.
Joselu scored the first goal, his eighth overall versus Real Madrid and his second-most against a single team (10 vs. Cadiz). Since 2010, only Luis Suarez (10) and Lionel Messi (11) have scored more goals than Los Blancos.
Real Madrid’s seven-game home scoreless streak against Espanyol in LaLiga was broken by Joselu’s goal, making it the longest such streak by a single team in league history.
Vinicius Junior scored in the rematch on August 28 and has since scored in both LaLiga games against Espanyol this year.
In all competitions this season, Eder Militao has scored six goals for Real Madrid; before to this, he had only done so four times since joining the team in 2019.
Militao has scored more goals overall (six) than any other defender at a LaLiga team this season, contributing to four of Madrid’s five headed goals in LaLiga. Florian Lejeune of Rayo is next with four, and several players, including Barcelona’s Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto, have three.
Toni Kroos recorded his 81st assist with Real Madrid in all competitions in his 400th outing for the team, four of which were for Vinicius Junior.
In all competitions, Real Madrid’s last defeat was against Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey in January 2021. (2-1 after extra time).