WATCH: Vinicius ends barren La Liga run as Real Madrid lead

Real Madrid are hoping to close back to within one point of Barcelona in the La Liga title race, and they are on course to do after taking an early lead against Rayo Vallecano.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s side suffered a major blow inside the opening 10 minutes when Jude Bellingham was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury, but they have bounced back well from that setback. Soon after, Vinicius Junior twisted and turned his way to the edge of the box, and from there, he found the top corner.

🚨🚨| GOAL: VINICIUS JR SCORES THE OPENER!!!

Real Madrid 1-0 Rayo Vallecanopic.twitter.com/XW2xhrh98Z

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) February 1, 2026

Vinícius Júnior ends his goal drought! 🇧🇷

The Brazilian scores his first LALIGA goal since October and it’s a stunner 🔥

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 @sbk | 18+ | 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑦 pic.twitter.com/b9NwOZOGGb

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) February 1, 2026

Vinícius Jr. puts Real Madrid in the lead! 💥 pic.twitter.com/hmOGU8XmkP

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 1, 2026

It’s a big moment for Vinicius, who had received strong boos from the Bernabeu crowd in the opening stages, but the fans are now on his side. On a personal level, it is also his first La Liga goal in almost four months, since he struck twice in the 3-1 home victory over Villarreal in early October.

Earlier in the weekend, Real Madrid head coach Arbeloa defended his continued use of Vinicius, and he has been rewarded for this faith.