Kylian Mbappe scored twice in the first half to inspire LaLiga title hopefuls Real Madrid to a 2-1 victory over Villarreal, ending the visitors’ eight-year wait for a win at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
Real Madrid were quickly brought down to earth following their midweek UEFA Champions League success against Atletico Madrid, falling behind in the seventh minute after failing to deal with a Villarreal corner.
The ball kindly dropped for Juan Foyth to tuck home from close range, marking Villarreal’s first goal inside the opening 15 minutes of a LaLiga home game this season.
Foyth’s first goal since August 2023 ultimately sparked Los Blancos into life, as they quickly turned the half in their favour courtesy of Mbappe’s six-minute brace.
The Frenchman drilled the ball home from a rebound to restore parity, before firing another effort out of Diego Conde’s reach from Lucas Vazquez’s cut-back, registering his 30th goal since joining Real last summer.
With his side trailing at the break, Villarreal boss Marcelino opted to send on forward Thierno Barry, who went close to making an immediate impact when he powered a header just inches over Thibaut Courtois’s crossbar.
El Submarino Amarillo continued to pile the pressure on Los Blancos until Carlo Ancelotti introduced Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Junior just past the hour mark in a bid to halt the home side’s building momentum.
The alterations certainly helped Real gain some semblance of control, although their precarious advantage still offered Villarreal a source of hope as the contest drifted into the final 10 minutes.
Ayoze Perez spurned a golden chance to pull his side level, blazing his right-foot shot into the stand behind Courtois’s goal. The Spain international was left to rue that miss as Real negotiated the nervy final stages to move to the top of LaLiga, piling the pressure on Atletico and Barcelona ahead of Sunday’s meeting between their two title rivals.
As for the hosts, they stay five points adrift of fourth-placed Athletic Club after suffering their first home defeat of 2025.