Real Madrid move level with Barcelona while Bayer Leverkusen suffer setback

Real Madrid went level on points with LaLiga leaders Barcelona as strikes from Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior saw them beat third-placed Villarreal 2-0 at the Bernabeu.

Valverde sent a deflected shot past Diego Conde from around 25 yards out to put Carlo Ancelotti’s men ahead in the 14th minute, and Vinicius then added a superb effort from similar range in the 73rd minute – shortly before departing the field holding his shoulder.

Barca have the chance to re-establish a three-point gap at the top when they play at Alaves on Sunday.

Celta Vigo won 1-0 at bottom side Las Palmas despite being reduced to nine men. The visitors had Ilaix Moriba and Iago Aspas sent off early in the second half but managed to maintain the lead given to them by Borja Iglesias’ 28th-minute goal.

Jorge de Frutos scored a brace as Rayo Vallecano came from behind to triumph 2-1 at Real Valladolid, the score was the same as Espanyol beat Mallorca at home, and Getafe and Osasuna drew 1-1 at the Estadio Coliseum.

Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a shock 2-2 draw at home by promoted Holstein Kiel.

Xabi Alonso’s men were 2-0 up by the eighth minute thanks to goals from Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann, but the visitors fought back with a Max Geschwill effort and Jann-Fiete Arp penalty as they moved off the foot of the table.

Leverkusen drop a place to fifth, two points behind table-toppers Bayern Munich, who go to second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

Freiburg moved up to third with a 1-0 win at Werder Bremen sealed by Ritsu Doan’s 75th-minute goal, while Union Berlin leapfrogged Borussia Dortmund into sixth after beating them 2-1 at home.

Bochum are the new basement boys following their 3-1 home loss to Wolfsburg, for whom Jonas Wind scored twice, and there was a brace for Jonathan Burkardt in Mainz’s 3-0 win at St Pauli.

Marcus Thuram notched a hat-trick as Inter Milan saw off 10-man Torino 3-2 at San Siro and moved up to second place in Serie A.

After the away side had Guillermo Maripan dismissed in the 20th minute, Thuram scored in the 25th and then 35th before Duvan Zapata replied a minute later.

Thuram completed his treble on the hour mark and while Torino were able to again reduce the deficit, via Nikola Vlasic’s 86th-minute penalty, there was no dramatic equaliser as Simone Inzaghi’s champions went two points behind leaders Napoli.

Udinese rose to third by beating Lecce 1-0 at home courtesy of a Jordan Zemura finish, and Atalanta thrashed Genoa 5-1, with Mateo Retegui scoring a hat-trick completed with a penalty.

Monaco moved to the Ligue 1 summit, three points clear of Paris St Germain, with a 2-1 victory at Rennes secured by Folarin Balogun’s winner. PSG play at Nice on Sunday.

Lille came from behind to defeat Toulouse 2-1 at home, England’s Angel Gomes with their equaliser, and Zuriko Davitashvili was another hat-trick scorer as St Etienne beat Auxerre 3-1.