Vinícius Júnior scored two second-half goals and Real Madrid beat Espanyol 2-0 on Sunday, preventing Barcelona from clinching its second straight Spanish league title this weekend.
Title Race Update
Barcelona beat Osasuna 2-1 on Saturday to open a 14-point gap over Madrid heading into Sunday's matches. Anything but a win by Madrid against Barcelona's city rival would have allowed the Catalan club to celebrate its 29th league title this weekend.
Barcelona will have a chance to clinch the title next weekend when it hosts Real Madrid in a "clásico" at the Camp Nou. Madrid's lead stayed at 11 points with four rounds remaining.
"We have a big game against a great rival and they have been playing well," Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said. "It's a special game for the fans, for us. We are going to rest and prepare well for it."
Match Details
It was a hard-fought match until Vinícius broke the deadlock in the 55th minute. The Brazil forward used a nice fake move to get past a couple of Espanyol defenders inside the area before scoring.
Vinícius added to the lead in the 66th minute with a shot into the top corner. The goal was set up by a beautiful back-heel pass from Jude Bellingham.
Espanyol Update
Sunday's result kept Espanyol winless in 17 consecutive games this year, with 10 losses. The team sits in 13th place, five points from the relegation zone.
Espanyol defender Omar El Hilali was shown a straight red card for a foul on Vinícius in the first half, but the call was changed to a yellow card after video review.
Madrid lost left back Ferland Mendy 10 minutes into the match due to an apparent muscle injury.
Other La Liga Results
Rayo Vallecano 2-0 Getafe: Sergio Camello and Randy Nteka scored in each half as Rayo prepared for its Conference League semifinal against Strasbourg. Goalkeeper Augusto Batalla also saved a penalty. Rayo moved to 11th place in the standings.
Celta Vigo 3-1 Elche: Celta boosted its hopes of European qualification with a win at home over promoted Elche. The victory moved Celta above Getafe into sixth place.
Real Betis 3-0 Oviedo: Cucho Hernández scored twice for fifth-place Real Betis in a home win over last-place Oviedo. The result left the visitors on the verge of relegation.