Related items

• Real Madrid 2-0 Villarreal: Valverde and Vinicius stunners down high-flying visitors

  Real Madrid went level on points with rivals Barcelona at the LaLiga summit following their 2-0 triumph over high-flying Villarreal on Saturday.

  The hosts opened the scoring in stunning fashion when Luka Modric's short corner was dummied by Jude Bellingham for Federico Valverde, with the Uruguayan taking aim from distance and finding the bottom corner with the aid of a deflection. 

  But Villarreal, who had won back-to-back league games heading into the encounter at the Bernabeu, responded almost immediately when Nicolas Pepe's header rattled the crossbar before Thierno Barry nodded over. 

  Los Blancos had further chances to increase their lead, but Antonio Rudiger sent an effort over the bar before Bellingham's long-range effort sailed wide of the post.

  But the victory was sealed 17 minutes from time with another sensational strike, this time Vinicius Junior tried his luck from long-range and curled a superb strike beyond the grasp of Diego Conde after being found by Valverde. 

  The result, however, was overshadowed by a nasty injury in second-half stoppage time to Dani Carvajal, with the Spaniard leaving the pitch on a stretcher and in tears after a collision with Yeremy Pino. 

  Data Debrief: Wonder goals save Los Blancos

  Madrid's two strikes against Villarreal both came from outside the box, as many as they had scored in their previous 39 goals in LaLiga. 

  But Carlo Ancelotti's side were far from their very best at the Bernabeu. They managed to muster an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.47 compared to Villarreal's 0.62, with only two of Los Blancos' 11 shots on target. 

  Valverde, however, impressed for Madrid, creating the joint-most chances alongside Modric (three), while also completing more accurate passes (77) than any other player on the pitch. 

• Al-Ahli 1-2 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double keeps Saudi champions perfect

  Aleksandar Mitrovic proved to be the difference once again for Al-Hilal as the reigning Saudi Pro League champions beat Al-Ahli 2-1 on Saturday.

  Al-Ahil went in front with 12 minutes played when Gabri Veiga was sent through on goal by Franck Kessie, with the Spaniard rounding Yassine Bounou to open the scoring at King Abdullah Sports City. 

  The hosts went close to doubling their advantage soon after, with Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney going close, before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his effort cleared off the line at the other end.

  But parity was restored early in the second half through Al-Hilal's master marksman, as Mitrovic nodded home a trademark header from Renan Lodi's delivery. 

  Al-Ahil were then awarded a penalty when Rayan Hamed fouled Malcom inside the box, only for Mitrovic to see his effort saved by Abdulrahman Al Sanbi. 

  However, the Serbian was given the chance to redeem himself after the VAR deemed encroachment had taken place, and he made no mistake at the second time of asking to net his 14th goal of the season in all competitions. 

  Data Debrief: Mitrovic the main man

  Mitrovic has been in fine form since his move to Saudi Arabia, with his latest double taking his tally to 54 goals in as many appearances for Al-Hilal. 

  This time out, he contributed 1.16 expected goals (xG) tally to the visitors' 2.24 total, while also recording the most touches in the opposition box (six). 

  Malcom also impressed for Al-Hilal, creating more chances (three) than anyone on the pitch, with his 14 passes into the final third a total only bettered by Ruben Neves (18) and Salem Al Dawsari (15) among his team-mates. 

• Szczesny made to wait for Barcelona debut

  Barcelona's new goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny will not make his debut against Alaves on Sunday and will instead have to wait until after the international break.

  The club signed the Pole as a free agent on Wednesday, with the goalkeeper reversing his decision to retire so he could come to the team's aid following Marc-Andre ter Stegen's season-ending injury.

  Ter Stegen suffered a serious knee injury against Villarreal last month, and Inaki Pena has featured in the last three games for Barcelona, most recently keeping a clean sheet in their 5-0 win over Young Boys in the Champions League.

  And it looks like Pena is set to start between the sticks against Alaves, too, with Hansi Flick confirming that Szczesny is not yet available for selection. 

  "Szczesny is in good shape and, with his experience, character and quality, I think he is the very best option for the club," Flick told reporters.

  "It's very good to have him, he will help us a lot, but he is not with us against Alaves.

  "I am sure after the international break Szczesny will be an option for us. For him also, to play for Barca will be great. We will see how he is doing in training. We have a lot of time."

  The Catalan side have a tough run after the international break, hosting Bayern Munich in the Champions League three days before visiting Real Madrid in LaLiga on October 26.

  They are in a strong position though, sitting top of the table heading into their match against Alaves, though did suffer their first loss of the domestic season against Osasuna last weekend in a 4-2 defeat.

  With 25 goals to their name already, they have made their best scoring start to a single campaign since 2016-17 (26).

  However, Flick admitted his decision to rest key starters had an impact in that loss, and accepted the players would not like his choices.

  "It's normal to get angry, everyone wants to play more. Those changes had to be made. It's a decision that they have to accept, and they did," he added.

  "Lamine Yamal [a 59th-minute substitute against Osasuna] complained that he wasn't receiving many balls, but now he can work on fixing that.

  "We have to avoid the many mistakes we made at Osasuna. We need to have more control and possession. It is going to be a high-intensity game at Alaves."