MADRID: Vinicius Jr struck twice from the penalty spot as Real Madrid powered to a 4-1 home victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday that sent them provisionally to the top of La Liga.
Real moved to 60 points, two clear of second-placed Barcelona, last season’s champions, who have a game in hand and visit local rivals Girona on Monday.
Real struck after five minutes when 21-year-old Gonzalo Garcia steered Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross beyond keeper Alex Remiro.
The visitors levelled in the 21st minute after Dean Huijsen fouled Yangel Herrera and Mikel Oyarzabal converted the spot kick.
Vinicius restored the lead four minutes later after Jon Aramburu brought him down and calmly sent Remiro the wrong way.
Federico Valverde made it 3-1 in the 31st minute, curling into the top corner and Vinicius completed the scoring three minutes into the second half, winning and converting another penalty after Aramburu clipped him, as Real secured an eighth consecutive La Liga win.
“We are happy because we made a great match, it was a near flawless performance, we could have scored even more but the important thing is that we’ve won in decisive fashion,” captain Valverde told Real Madrid TV.
The hosts wasted little time asserting themselves. After five minutes, Gonzalo, standing in for the rested Kylian Mbappe as he manages a lingering leg muscle issue, deftly diverted an Alexander-Arnold cross into the bottom-left corner but Huijsen’s mistake gifted the visitors an equaliser.
Parity lasted four minutes as Vinicius started to take control and was fouled by Aramburu for the first of two penalties in the 25th minute. He made a great run from the left and was clipped inside the area, calmly firing the spot kick to Remiro’s left to restore the lead.
Real were in full flow and extended their advantage in the 31st minute when Vinicius made another run from the left and squared for Valverde in the middle, who stepped into the box and curled a precise finish into the top-right corner.
Three minutes after the restart, Vinicius struck again from the spot.
The winger nutmegged Aramburu on a swift counter before being felled from behind by the defender’s sliding challenge, and he tucked his penalty just inside the left post.
Real nearly scored a fifth in the 70th when Gonzalo raced clear and nudged the ball past the keeper, only for Jon Martin to throw himself into the line of fire and block.
Vinicius thought he had completed his hat-trick in the 89th minute, heading home from a free kick, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
“Since I’ve arrived Vinicius had games at a really high level... he’s a player who goes beyond the statistics, how he can change a game, condition opponents, the number of players he can attract” said Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa. “He is one of the best in the world, I’m lucky to coach him, he’s a great kid with a big heart.”
Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2026
