Kylian Mbappe scored twice to help Real Madrid secure a 2-1 victory over Villarreal on Saturday, lifting them to the top of La Liga. The win put Los Blancos three points ahead of Barcelona, who will face third-placed Atletico Madrid in a crucial match on Sunday. However, Madrid’s coaches and players expressed frustration at playing the match less than 72 hours after their intense Champions League penalty win against Atletico.
Despite this, Madrid had enough energy to claim all three points at the Estadio de la Ceramica, with coach Carlo Ancelotti opting to start Vinicius Junior on the bench due to the team’s recent exertions. Villarreal started the match strongly, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making a smart save from Ayoze Perez’s shot.
The hosts took the lead from a corner, with Foyth smashing in the rebound from close range. Madrid responded quickly, with Mbappe scoring the equalizer just 17 minutes into the match. After a save by Villarreal’s goalkeeper Diego Conde, Mbappe calmly netted the rebound.
Soon after, Mbappe added his second goal, finishing well after receiving a perfect cross from Lucas Vazquez. The goal marked his 20th league goal of the season, leaving him just one goal behind Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona in the race for the Golden Boot.
Madrid then absorbed pressure from Villarreal for the rest of the first half, with Courtois making another crucial save from Nicolas Pepe. At halftime, Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral brought on Thierno Barry in an attempt to change the game’s course. Foyth had a great opportunity to equalize early in the second half but fired over the bar.
Ancelotti introduced Vinicius and Luka Modric to help Madrid regain control, and they saw out the match without conceding. Villarreal’s best chance came when Perez fired just over Courtois’ crossbar.
In other La Liga action, Mallorca defeated Espanyol 2-1, with Vedat Muriqi scoring a late penalty to redeem himself after an own goal and a missed spot-kick earlier. Celta Vigo also won 1-0 against bottom side Valladolid, condemning them to their 20th defeat of the season.
