Madrid, Oct 6 : Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday night to move level on points with FC Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

Federico Valverde's shot from outside of the penalty area early in the game and Vinicius Jr's 73rd minute goal after a pass from Valverde gave Carlo Ancelotti's side the win with their only two shots on target all game, while Kylian Mbappe also went close on a couple of occasions.

Alex Baena rattled the Real Madrid crossbar moments after Valverde's opening goal and he went close again shortly after the break, while Ilias Akhornachi went close for the visitors after the second goal.

The bad news for Real Madrid was a possibly serious injury for right back Dani Carvajal, who was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.

Espanyol won a tight game at home over Mallorca 2-1 to end the visitors' winning streak of three matches, thanks to a first half goal from Marash Kumbulla and a second goal from Jofre Carreras at the start of the second half, with Antonio Raillo pulling a goal back for Mallorca with 22 minutes left to play.

Getafe and Osasuna drew a dull game 1-1, with Bertug Yildirim putting the home side ahead in the first half, before Ante Budimir saved a point for Osasuna after the break.

Las Palmas and Valladolid saw their positions in the relegation zone worsen after home defeats to Celta Vigo and Rayo Vallecano respectively.

Borja Iglesias scored from Oscar Mingueza's cross to put Celta ahead in the first half and although Celta were reduced to nine men after Ilaix Moriba and Iago Aspas were both harshly sent off early in the second half, Celta held off the pressure for over half an hour, leaving Las Palmas coach Luis Carrion in danger of losing his job.

Valladolid's Paulo Pezzolano is also in danger of the sack after his side surrendered Selim Amallah's opener to two goals from Jorge de Frutos to leave his side without a win in eight matches.

Leganes and Valencia drew 0-0 on Friday night after a dreadful match in which neither side had a shot before halftime, with Leganes managing the only effort on target in the 91st minute.

/IANS