Vinicius lifts Real Madrid to 1-0 win over Sevilla with Mbappe back in starting role

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring their first goal. REUTERS

Vinicius Jr's first-half strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday, with forward Kylian Mbappe returning to the starting lineup after being controversially left out by manager Alvaro Arbeloa.

Real stay second on 83 points, while Sevilla sit 13th on 43 points with one game remaining.

Sevilla looked the more threatening side early on but fell behind in the 14th minute when Mbappe controlled the ball with his chest and fed Vinicius inside the area and the Brazilian winger finished low into the bottom corner beyond goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.

Both sides created chances but struggled to convert them, with Mbappe having a goal ruled out for offside in the second half after rounding Vlachodimos.

Much of the focus before kickoff had been on Mbappe after the 27-year-old France captain said he was now a fourth-choice forward following his omission from the starting lineup in Thursday's 2-0 win over Real Oviedo.