Man of the match, highlights as Real Madrid return to winning ways
Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior scored the goals as Real Madrid recorded a 2-0 victory over Villarreal in Saturday night's La Liga contest at Bernabeu.
The breakthrough arrived in the 14th minute of the clash, with Valverde's strike from distance taking a deflection and landing in the bottom corner, as Real Madrid settled some of the early nerves that had been present following their defeat to Lille last time out.
There was almost an instant response from Villarreal, but Nicolas Pepe's effort came off the crossbar.
Los Blancos enjoyed the better of the opening half of action, having 54% of the ball and boasting nine shots to Villarreal's six, but Valverde's effort was all that separated the two sides ahead of an intriguing second 45 minutes of action.
Without the presence of top goalscorer Ayoze Perez due to an injury, Villarreal found it difficult to get going for long stages at Bernabeu, and they conceded a second in the 73rd minute of the contest, with Valverde this time turning provider to set up Vinicius, who found the back of the net with a thumping drive from distance.
It was another Los Blancos display that lacked a spark for long spells, but it was a professional performance from Carlo Ancelotti's side, who simply had to bounce back from their loss to Lille.
The win has moved second-placed Real Madrid level on points (21) with leaders Barcelona in the La Liga table, while Villarreal remain third, having suffered their second league defeat of the campaign.