Vinicius nets double to help Real Madrid overcome Espanyol and stall Barcelonas championship festivities

Espanyol found themselves in an unusual spot where securing any points would gift the championship to their local opponents Barcelona and they nearly led within the opening three minutes as Roberto Fernández mishit a strike from 15 yards.

The home side showed no signs of their run of 16 games without a victory (six draws ten losses) with an energetic beginning though they owed thanks when Vinícius effort took a deflection and hit the upright in the eighth minute.

This opportunity marked a shift in the games flow as Real gained dominance before the visitors momentarily believed they were down to ten players after Omar El Hilali got a direct red for a reckless tackle on Vinícius around the 25th minute.

Yet referee Jesús Gil Manzano reduced it to yellow following a review on the touchline screen.

The supporters outrage at that call seemed to ignite Espanyol who then saw Tyrhys Dolan sky a promising opportunity high.

Federico Valverde headed directly at Marko Dmitrović while Brahim Díaz volleyed over for Real and Andriy Lunin pulled off an excellent stop to deny Leandro Cabreras near post header during added time before the interval.

Real needed 45 minutes to put off the Barcelona celebrations and they struck first ten minutes into the second period as Vinícius linked up with Gonzalo García inside the area then coolly finished beyond Dmitrović.

Ramon Terrats came close to levelling right away via an overhead kick but it hit a teammate and cleared the bar before he bent one narrowly past Lunins upright.

Vinícius refused to be outdone and extended the advantage mid way through the period by controlling Jude Bellinghams clever flick and smashing into the upper corner.

This marked the Brazilians 21st strike this campaign in all tournaments and his eighth contribution in the last seven outings versus Espanyol (five goals three assists).

Carlos Romero tested Lunin with a routine effort as the team hunted a reply but to no avail since they blanked for the fourth occasion in their most recent five fixtures.

This gritty success halts Reals trio of away matches without triumph yet they face Barcelona at Camp Nou the following Sunday to sustain their slimshot at the crown for one more week.

On the other hand Espanyol continue to seek their initial triumph of 2026 and risk dropping to within three points of the drop zone should Sevilla triumph over Real Sociedad on Monday.