Vincius brace sends Real Madrid top

Madrid, Feb. 16: Vinícius Júnior scored two penalties and a Real Madrid team without superstar Kylian Mbappé moved top of La Liga with a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Mbappé watched from the substitutes' bench after missing some team training sessions during the week with discomfort in his left knee. Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said Friday he was able to play, but evidently he did not want to rush his star goal-getter.

Nor did he need to. Mbappé and Jude Bellingham, out with a hamstring injury, watched as Madrid produced an assured team performance to end the visitors' 10-game unbeaten run across all competitions and move two points clear of Barcelona before the defending champion visits Girona on Monday.

"I think we did a spectacular job defensively and up front as well," said team captain Fede Valverde, who scored his first goal of the season. "We had so many chances, but we just couldn't convert them. It's true they had some, too, but (goalkeeper Thibaut) Courtois was tremendous. It was a great match from the whole team."

Gonzalo García opened the scoring with a slight touch to Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross in the fifth minute. However, it was to be a largely frustrating game for the young attacker, who failed to make more of other good opportunities.

Dean Huijsen conceded a penalty for bringing down Yangel Herrera, and Mikel Oyarzabal duly equalized from the spot with a hard high centrally placed shot in the 21st.

Referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso awarded another penalty at the other end four minutes later when Jon Aramburu caught Vinícius' ankle, bringing him down. The Brazilian dusted himself off to score from the spot in the 25th.

Valverde gratefully scored the third in the 31st after being left too much space at the edge of the penalty box, and Gonzalo should have scored again when Valverde set him up for what looked like a simple tap in.

Vinícius made it 4-1 with his second spot kick after the break, awarded after Aramburu was again penalized for bringing him down.

Dani Carvajal made his long-awaited return around the hour mark when he replaced Alexander-Arnold for his first league appearance since Madrid's 2-1 loss to Barcelona in October. Carvajal was reportedly unhappy that the 21-year-old Castilla player David Jiménez played at right back in Valencia last weekend.

"The most important thing is to win, for the team to get the three points and keep this momentum going," Valverde said after the team's eighth league victory in a row.

Borja Iglesias scored in stoppage time, after having another seemingly good goal ruled out through VAR, to salvage a 2-2 draw for Celta Vigo at Espanyol.

Also Saturday, Getafe held on to upset visiting Villarreal 2-1, and 10-man Sevilla drew with Alaves 1-1 in a duel between two strugglers.

Inter stay 8 points ahead

Piotr Zielinski scored a last-minute winner as Serie A leader Inter Milan beat Juventus 3-2 to stay eight points ahead of second-placed AC Milan on Saturday.

Juventus twice came from behind and overcame a red card but finally capitulated in the 90th when Zielinski drove in a low shot after being set up by Yann Bisseck near the penalty area.

The defeat dropped Juve one place to fifth behind Roma, which has a better goal difference and can move into third spot if it wins at defending champion Napoli on Sunday. 

Juventus left back Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends in the first half.

He inadvertently deflected Luis Henrique's cross past his goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio in the 17th minute, then latched on to a right-wing cross from American midfielder Weston McKennie in the 26th.

Juve's chances were hampered when defender Pierre Kalulu was sent off for a second yellow card late in the first half after fouling Alessandro Bastoni, who moments earlier had missed a golden chance from close range.

Inter regained the lead in the 76th when forward Pio Esposito headed in powerfully from Federico Dimarco's left-wing cross. Manuel Locatelli equalized from another McKennie cross in the 83rd to ensure a tense finish.

Zielinski ensured Inter notched a sixth straight win overall. (AP)

Como's hopes of securing Champions League qualification were dealt a blow by visiting Fiorentina. Nicolo Fagioli and Moise Kean scored in 2-1 win for Fiorentina at Como's Guiseppe Sinigaglia stadium.

The day got worse for Como as Champions League-chasing rival Atalanta won 2-0 at Lazio to move one point above in sixth place, thanks to a penalty from midfielder Ederson in the 41st minute and a second-half effort from Poland's Nicola Zalewski.

Kane hits 500 career goals

England star Harry Kane scored twice for Bayern Munich on Saturday – including his 100th successful penalty – to take his career tally to 500 for club and country, according to stats provider Opta.

Kane's brace helped Bayern maintain its six-point Bundesliga lead with a 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Werder Bremen.

Kane said he was only told of his achievement after the match.

"It was nice. Obviously a proud achievement to reach 500 goals. It's a lot of hard work, a lot sacrifice, so nice to reach it. But as always, it's about the next one," Kane told broadcaster Dazn. "So the most important thing today is the win, the clean sheet."

Kane's first goal was as a 17-year-old playing for Leyton Orient against Sheffield Wednesday in England's third tier in January 2011.

He scored Saturday's goals in the first half. The penalty came in the 22nd minute after Lennart Karl was brought down. The second came four minutes later with a crisp shot in off the post from outside the penalty area for his 26th league goal of the season.

Kane needed 743 games to reach 500 goals, according to Transfermarkt.de. The 32-year-old forward has 78 goals in 112 games for England.

Leon Goretzka, making a rare start in his final season at Bayern, scored the team's third goal in the 70th.

"We scored at the perfect situation and killed the game off," Kane said.