Madrid: Vinicius Jr. scored twice as Real Madrid showed their dominance in the Spanish LaLiga by defeating 10th-placed Osasuna 4-2 at the Estadio El Sader in Pamplona, with Federico Valverde racking up a trio of assists too.
The deadlock was broken in the fourth minute when their first attack of the game provided instant rewards as Vinicius Jr. picked up a loose ball, drove forwards and with his right-foot fired across the goalkeeper and into the far left corner to give Los Blancos the lead.
But it was only temporary as Osasuna dramatically hit back in the seventh-minute when Ante Budimir, wearing a mask, turned home from point-blank range after a quick counter-attack saw a ball crossed to him at the far-post.
That was as good as it would get for the home side though as 11 minutes later, Dani Carvajal restored the lead. Valverde showed great mobility and flexibility to cross from a disadvantageous position in the box and from around the penalty spot, the Real Madrid right-back was on hand to flick the ball into the top corner with the outside of his foot.
Carlo Ancelotti's side continued to dominate the remainder of the first half as Osasuna couldn't get into the game and that didn't change in the second half as two quick-fire strikes completely killed off the contest for the league leaders, the Spanish MARCA newspaper reported.
Brahim Diaz made it 3-1 in the 61st minute when Valverde doubled as a target man to win a flick on that set the away side through on goal with barely any defenders around.
From there, it was an easy job for Diaz to open himself up, wait for the goalkeeper to commit and slot into the right side of the goal to ensure the three points would be going back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Then it got even sweeter as Vinicius Jr. scored again, with Valverde completing his treble of assists, with the Brazilian scoring the deftest of flicks from the six-yard box to gently lift the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper in the 64th minute in a very classy goal.
Lucaz Vasquez had a goal ruled out for offside, before Iker Munoz then added a late consolation for the home side, but it proved to be nothing more as Real Madrid won out as 4-2 winners.
The two strikes in the game took Vinicius Jr.'s season total to 15 goals and six assists for Los Blancos, only being surpassed by the absent Jude Bellingham, with a combined total of 27 goal contributions.
The extra two goals also lift Vinicius Jr. to be the seventh top scorer in the Spanish LaLiga, level with Valencia's Hugo Duro and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski. He trails Bellingham by four goals in the race for the golden boot.
