Villarreal 0-2 Real Madrid: Mbappe brace seals three points for Los Blancos

Real Madrid moved to the top of the LaLiga table with a 2-0 win over Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica, with Marcelino's side suffering back-to-back league defeats for the first time since March.

Match Report

César Soto Grado’s failure to award Villarreal an early penalty set the tone in a scrappy opening period, which saw goalmouth action at a premium. As the half progressed, the Yellow Submarine worked the channels well through Tajon Buchanan and Alberto Moleiro, albeit without really threatening, with Real’s Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe being reduced to chasing loose balls thanks to some brilliant man-to-man defending from the hosts.

As a result, the first shot on target didn’t arrive until the 20th minute when Arda Guler’s fine individual effort tested Luiz Junior, and his silky skills stood out more than once in the half.

Two teams renowned for playing good football were cancelling each other out and had to settle for battling for every ball. Vinicius, who hadn’t scored in the league since the reverse fixture in October, flashed a left-footed shot inches wide as half-time approached, and Pape Gueye saw a similar effort narrowly miss the target with the final effort of the half.

After a disappointing first half, Los Blancos needed just two minutes of the second period to hit the front, as Mbappe was quickest to a loose ball inside the box and fired home the opener with his first touch of the game in the Villarreal box.

The Frenchman’s fourth goal in three appearances prompted a period of Real dominance, which appeared ominous for the hosts as the visitors had won every league game they scored first in this term. 

A well-worked free-kick between Dani Parejo and Gerard Moreno just after the hour almost brought the equaliser, but chances remained fleeting for Villarreal heading into the closing stages.

In stoppage time, another stunning burst of pace from Mbappé saw him brought down by Alfonso Pedraza inside the area, and the Frenchman made no mistake with a Panenka from the spot.

That put the contest to bed, meaning Villarreal dropped below Atletico Madrid in the league table after a third successive defeat across all competitions.

The result also means that Barcelona go into their fixture on Sunday against basement boys Real Oviedo knowing that they have to win in order to reclaim top spot from Real Madrid.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

10' Moleiro takes a shot inside the box but it flies high over the bar

17' Mikautadze tries a volley inside the box that sails way past the right post

21' Guler goes on a mazy run through the defence, but his effort is saved

22' Juan Foyth is unable to continue due to injury, Rafa Marin comes on

27' Vini Jr plays the ball for Mbappe but his effort is saved by the keeper

39' Bellingham sends a cross, but the ball is cleared by the defender

40' Vinicius collects a pass and runs with pace, but his effort goes inches wide

45' Vinicius fouls as he pushes down his opponent

46' Gueye tries a pot shot from the edge of the box, but it goes narrowly wide

47' GOAL! Mbappe gets to the rebound in the box and nets! Villarreal 0-1 Real Madrid

56' Moreno fires a shot goalwards inside the box, but the effort flies just wide

62' Yellow Card! Mastantuono commits a foul and he is booked

73' Gonzalo Garcia on, Mastantuono off

80' Arda Guler is replaced by Brahim Diaz

82' Mbappe latches onto a through pass, but his effort is blocked by a slide tackle

92' Penalty Goal! Mbappe nets brace! Villarreal 0-2 Real Madrid

Line-ups

Villarreal XI: Parejo, G. Moreno, Pedraza, Foyth, Pape Gueye, Buchanan, Georges Mikautadze, Alberto Moleiro, Luiz Júnior, Renato Veiga, Pau Navarro

Subs: Partey, Ayoze Perez, Pepe, Arnau Tenas, Sergi Cardona, Rafa Marín, Tani Oluwaseyi, Carlos Macià

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Mbappe, Valverde, Vinicius, Camavinga, Bellingham, Güler, Álvaro Carreras, Raúl Asencio, Dean Huijsen, Franco Mastantuono

Subs: Alaba, Carvajal, Ceballos, Brahim, Lunin, Fran García, Rodrygo, Gonzalo García, Sergio Mestre, Jorge Cestero, Diego Aguado