Mbappé's ankle, Vinicius' smile, and Villarreal's anger at the referee: "If it's difficult to win at the Bernabéu, it's even more so with these things."

" I played very well and I want to continue like this ." Vinicius Júnior regained his smile on Saturday night at the Santiago Bernabéu , and Villarreal showed their anger. The Brazilian, now over the controversy of his substitute appearances, made his fifth consecutive start and scored his first brace of the season, taking his total to five La Liga goals. " I want to continue with this confidence and do even more ."

"Vini had a very good game, a decisive performance. Not just because of the first goal, but because of the first half, the imbalance he had... I like it when I see him smile and enjoy himself ; he came close to scoring a hat trick that would have rounded off his performance," said Xabi Alonso.

In the sub, Marcelino García Toral's wry smile when asked about the referee's work was constant in every question posed by the journalists. "I'm not going to talk about the referee," he repeated, although his tone and words betrayed anger at Marín's penalty on Vinicius that led to the 2-1 and especially at Santiago Mouriño's second yellow card before the 3-1, despite the player having risked several bookings in the first half.

"You make it easier for the opponent to take the lead. The second yellow card... Let the CTA see it and decide. I'm sure everything was fine," he commented. "Even if you ask me 200 questions about the referee, I'm not going to talk. If there are that many, something strange must have happened," he added. On the pitch, Santi Comesaña was more forceful: " It takes something more to award a penalty . It hurts us a lot, and you just have to see how he takes the shot, with both feet in front. And the sending off is the same. Mouriño just stands in front. If it's difficult to win at the Bernabéu, with things like this, it's even more so," declared the Villarreal midfielder.

The 2-0 result had its share of influence on Madrid's side. Mbappé, who has scored four penalties this season, let Vinicius take the penalty. It was a decision discussed among the players and not Alonso's own choice, who made it clear in a press conference that the Frenchman was the team's primary penalty taker. " They made the decision. The penalty taker remains Kylian . Today was his decision," the coach commented.

Asked about the referee's work, Alonso was ironic: " If Marcelino didn't want to talk, neither did I. " And he praised his players' performance: "We had to work hard. In the first half, we lacked the speed to turn and attack the opposing side," he described.

Mbappé and Mastantuono's injuries

The match left doubts about the fitness of Mbappé and Mastantuono . The Frenchman came off in the 83rd minute after hurting his ankle in the fight against Real Madrid's third goal. He lay on the ground, touched his ankle, and called for assistance. He left on his own two feet, clearly in pain, and his presence with France during the international break is highly doubtful. According to Real Madrid, he is suffering from a slight sprain in his right ankle.

Mastantuono is in a similar situation, having tired out at the end of the match and being substituted for Brahim in the final stretch. The Argentine, called up by the Argentine national team, is suffering from a slight hamstring strain, according to the club, so his trip to Argentina is not guaranteed. " We can't say right now if they'll be playing for their national teams or not, " said Xabi, awaiting the medical tests his players will undergo this Sunday.

The final protagonist of the match was Fede Valverde , Madrid's starting right-back under Alonso's orders, despite all the controversy surrounding the Uruguayan throughout the week. "He didn't tell me (that he didn't want to play at full-back) . We've all seen how he's played at full-back, and he can play in several positions. Fede is very generous with the team. He likes to feel useful and important, and that's what we want. He hasn't put up any obstacles at any time," said the Tolosar native.