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Luka Modric turned in an ageless showing and Vinicius Jr got back among the goals as an otherwise sloppy Real Madrid worked their way to a 2-0 win over Girona on Sunday. There were chances aplenty for Los Blancos, but they were largely wasteful in front of goal, with Kylian Mbappe in particular losing his shooting boots after a scintillating hat-trick against Manchester City in midweek.
Madrid hummed early as Mbappe and Vinicius combined repeatedly to pepper the Girona goal. Paulo Gazzaniga stood tall, though, providing a flurry of saves to keep Carlo Ancelotti's side out. Thibaut Courtois, too, made a couple of crucial stops at the other end to keep things level.
A Modric moment of magic broke the game open five minutes before the break. The Croatian controlled a looped clearance on the edge of the Girona box, before smashing the ball into the far corner.
Vinicius almost made it 2-0 on the hour mark, but his curled effort rattled the bar, while Mbappe should have put the game to bed after 80 minutes, as he darted through on goal, only to see his shot saved. Vinicius sealed things soon after, however, as he poked past Gazzaniga after a one-two with Mbappe.
This was a slightly sloppy Madrid performance. They missed the drive of Jude Bellingham on the day, and could have done with some cleaner finishing. Still, in such a tight title race, Ancelotti can have few complaints.
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