Villarreal 1–2 Real Madrid: Player Ratings As Kylian Mbappe’s Brace Inspires Comeback Victory

Kylian Mbappé’s performance at La Ceramica won Real Madrid their first La Liga match since 2017. This victory was Real Madrid’s first since 2017.

The Real Madrid team, which had just finished playing 120 minutes in the Champions League, travelled to Villarreal less than 72 hours after taking part in the competition. Real Madrid, much like their meeting against Atlético Madrid in the European competition, found themselves in a position of disadvantage early on in the La Liga match. Just seven minutes into the contest, Villarreal went up by a score of 1-0 by taking advantage of a corner kick that was taken by Los Blancos.

Ten minutes later, Mbappé was the one who brought the away team back into the game. Brahim Díaz successfully compelled Diego Conde to make a save, resulting in the ball being delivered to Mbappé’s sole possession. Real Madrid was able to tie the game thanks to the Frenchman’s header of the rebound. After then, Mbappé achieved his second goal of the evening by making a strong shot from the top of the box, which put his team up by a score of 1–2.

The Los Blancos team found itself in a defensive position for a significant portion of the second half, prior to the arrival of Vinícius Júnior. From the bench, the Brazilian gave some vitality to the fatigued team that Carlo Ancelotti had assembled. Although Vinícius Júnior would have preferred to assist his team in achieving an insurance goal, he nevertheless had a role in ensuring that Real Madrid secured all three points when they were away from their home stadium.

They now hold the top spot in the La Liga standings with sixty points, making them the reigning champions of both Spain and Europe. In addition, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid are scheduled to compete against one another this weekend, which could provide Los Blancos with some breathing room in the event that the two teams finish with equal points on Sunday.