Dani Carvajal Injured as Real Madrid Maintains Perfect Start

Dani Carvajal suffered a distressing injury during added time as Real Madrid maintained their unbeaten start to the La Liga season with a 2-0 victory over Villarreal at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The Spanish right-back went off on a stretcher, visibly in tears, after an agonizing collision with Yeremy Pino that appeared to cause a serious knee injury. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed concern for Dani Carvajal, noting that the demanding schedule had impacted the players emotionally.

Real Madrid struck first in the 14th minute when Federico Valverde’s shot from the edge of the box deflected off Alex Baena and found the bottom left corner. Shortly after, Villarreal almost equalized when Nicolas Pepe’s header clipped the crossbar. Thierno Barry also missed a chance by heading over the bar. Vinicius Junior secured the win for Real with a powerful long-range shot into the top corner 17 minutes before the final whistle.

Despite several opportunities to extend their lead, including headers from Antonio Rudiger and a long-range attempt from Jude Bellingham that sailed wide, Real Madrid held firm. Villarreal’s hopes for a comeback faded when officials denied them a penalty after Aurelien Tchouameni fouled Barry, who was ruled offside. Baena’s free-kick from 25 yards grazed the side-netting and Villarreal struggled to capitalize on their chances throughout the match.

With this victory, Real Madrid extended its unbeaten streak in La Liga to 41 matches (30 wins and 11 draws), marking the second-best run in the competition’s history just shy of Barcelona’s 43-match unbeaten streak in 2018. The win leaves Real level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table while Hansi Flick’s team could pull three points clear if they secure victory over Alaves on Sunday.