Real Madrid hopes La Liga surge boosted by team dinner paid for by Vinícius and Mbappé

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid is counting on a team-bonding dinner reportedly paid for by its biggest stars to boost its late-season pursuit of the La Liga and Champions League trophies.

Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe paid the bill at the restaurant in Madrid on Tuesday, midfielder Dani Ceballos told reporters. The tab ran over 1,000 euros ($1,100), according to accounts by Spanish media.

Vinícius posted a photo of the entire squad during the dinner near the city center in a fancy location that features “Art Dining Club.”

Fans waited outside the restaurant to try to talk to the players after the dinner, which went well past midnight.

Coach Álvaro Arbeloa and his assistants were not part of the dinner, Spanish media said.

The show of unity came a week before Madrid faces Benfica in the first leg of the knockout playoffs of the Champions League. The team dropped out of the top eight that automatically qualified for the round of 16 after a 4-2 loss at the same Benfica in the final round of the league phase.

Defender Raúl Asencio told media after the dinner that the team was “very united.”

Madrid went through turmoil at the end of last year, with some players reportedly not on the same page with coach Xabi Alonso, who was replaced by Arbeloa last month.

Madrid improved, but under Arbeloa it was eliminated by second-tier Albacete in the Copa del Rey round of 16, and lost to Benfica in the match that relegated the team to the Champions League's knockout playoffs.

In La Liga, Madrid has won seven in a row to be one point behind leader Barcelona. A victory against Real Sociedad on Saturday would lift Madrid into first place before Barcelona's trip to face Girona on Monday.

Eighth-placed Sociedad is coming off a 1-0 win at Basque Country rival Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.

Key matchups

Barcelona will look to win its fourth in a row in the league against a Girona that was in 12th place and was winless in its last three matches.

Barcelona is coming off a resounding 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, when it conceded all goals in a disastrous first half.

It had won 17 of its last 18 matches in all competitions before the defeat. The last setback had been losing 2-1 at Sociedad in the league last month.

Third-placed Atletico will face lowly Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, while fourth-placed Villarreal is at mid-table Getafe.

Out of action

Mbappé trained separately from the squad on Thursday because of a knee issue and became doubtful for Saturday's game at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. He had already been held to gym work on Wednesday. The club did not immediately give any detail about his condition.

Vinícius was set to be back with Madrid after missing the previous league game because of a yellow card suspension, but Jude Bellingham will remain sidelined with a hamstring injury.

It remained unclear if forward Raphinha would fully recover in time from a muscle issue to play for Barcelona against Girona. Barcelona forward Marcus Rashford was doubtful because of a knock to his knee.

Players to watch

Mbappé's presence would be a huge boost for Madrid as the France star has nine goals in his last nine matches. He has 23 goals in 22 league games.

Off the field

Rayo's home game against Atletico will now be played at second-division Madrid club Leganes because of the condition of the field at Vallecas Stadium.

The surface was replaced last week. It also wasn't ready in time for last weekend's game against Oviedo, which had to be postponed on short notice.

It continued to rain a lot in Madrid this week, making it harder for the new grass to settle properly.

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