Real Madrid kept their La Liga title hopes flickering with a gritty 2-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday at the RCDE Stadium—a result that pushed the drama to the very next weekend. Had they drawn or lost, Barcelona would have been crowned champions on the spot. Instead, the race stays alive until El Clásico.

The hero of the night was Vinicius Junior, who bagged both goals and once again showed why he's the heartbeat of this Madrid attack. Head coach Álvaro Arbeloa didn't hold back in his praise: "He played a great game again, scoring two great goals and being the leader in the attacking areas. He was a total threat—very aggressive, intelligent, brave, and constant. I took him off because I didn't want to risk him missing El Clásico, but he was fantastic. He helped the team in defense too, and I thank him for that. He's a fantastic player, a born leader, a teammate everyone loves, a great person… I'm very proud to have him. The truth is, I'm very lucky."

When asked about Kylian Mbappé—who wasn't at the stadium to support the squad—Arbeloa quickly shut down any talk of a lack of commitment. "I don't doubt the commitment of any of my players. Everyone knows how important these games are. When you wear the Real Madrid shirt, you understand the demands of this club. No player is bigger than Real Madrid, and my players all understand that—what they represent, where they are, and how important it is. We're all lucky to be at Real Madrid."

Looking ahead to next weekend's blockbuster at the Spotify Camp Nou, Arbeloa offered a cautious but hopeful update on Mbappé and captain Dani Carvajal. "We're going to see how Mbappé is this week. After last week's tests, it looked promising, but we'll take it day by day."

With everything on the line in El Clásico, Madrid fans can only hope their stars are ready to shine when it matters most.