Villarreal 1-2 Real Madrid: provisional 'merengue' leadership and extra pressure for Barça

Real Madrid defeated Villarreal (1-2) on Saturday in a match resolved thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé and saves from Thibaut Courtois. Awaiting what happens between the Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona this Sunday at the Metropolitano (21:00 CEST), Carlo Ancelotti's team leads with 60 points, three more than the azulgrana, but with two more matches played.

The match had a very entertaining first half from start to finish, with multiple clear goal opportunities in both areas. After a couple of notable interventions from Courtois at the start of the match, Juan Foyth put the hosts ahead in the 7th minute, sending a loose ball into the net inside the area, after a corner from the left that caught the white defense off guard.

Two blows from Kylian Mbappé woke up Real Madrid

Despite the early disadvantage, Madrid broke free from Villarreal's suffocating high press in the first quarter of an hour, relying on Fede Valverde and Jude Bellingham for a clearer exit. In the 17th minute, a good one-two between Kylian Mbappé and Brahim Díaz left the Moroccan international one-on-one with Diego Conde. The quick exit of the Spanish goalkeeper forced the 'merengue' midfielder to shoot at the goalkeeper's body, but the rebound fell to a 'Kiki' who did not miss, firing at the '13' of the yellows.

The 1-1 left Villarreal very shaken, and four minutes later, came Mbappé's second blow. This time, a ball filtered by Valverde found Lucas Vázquez free. The winger turned into a full-back sent a back pass that seemed to find no recipient until Kylian appeared alone at the edge of the area. With time and space, the '9' unleashed a powerful shot, impossible for Conde, sealing the 1-2 in just 21 minutes.

Marcelino García Toral's team seemed on the brink of a KO near the half-hour mark when Rodrygo grazed the third with a shot that hit the side of the net. Ten minutes before halftime, Nicolas Pépé reactivated the attack of the 'Yellow Submarine' with a diverted shot. In stoppage time, there were a couple of scares in both areas, resolved by Conde and Courtois, the latter with more trouble against a very dangerous shot from Pépé.

Villarreal, superior in the second half

After the break, Marcelino brought on Thierno Barry in place of Pépé. No sooner had he entered than the Frenchman grazed the equalizer with a header that went slightly wide. In the 54th minute, the hosts wasted another clear opportunity through Foyth, who completely alone hit a volley after a corner, but his shot went over the crossbar. Villarreal again pinned Madrid back in the first 15 minutes of the second half and Carlo Ancelotti had no choice but to turn to the bench.

The Italian brought on Vinicius, Luka Modric, and Antonio Rüdiger, while the hosts also opted for Pedraza and Yéremy Pino to withstand the intense pace of a match that showed no mercy. In the first play he participated in, Vini filtered a good pass that found Valverde alone, but the Uruguayan preferred to pass it to the middle instead of finishing. The pass hit Pedraza's hand, but as it was the supporting arm on the ground, Gil Manzano rightly allowed play to continue.

Madrid held off Villarreal's final siege

The changes suited a Madrid that began to generate danger again, mainly on the right with Vinicius's breakthroughs. Arda Güler came on for Fede Valverde in the 82nd minute, with the Uruguayan clearly exhausted and slightly affected by a previous clash with Pedraza. Just after, Villarreal had the equalizer at Ayoze's feet, who after a half-turn sent a close-range shot into the clouds, stepping into the small area under Tchouaméni's mark. The hosts tried until the end, but there was no way to change the result after a rather short added time by Gil Manzano (only 3 minutes).

Thus, Madrid temporarily regains the leadership of LaLiga with 60 points, three more than Barcelona and four above Atlético, with the azulgrana team pending to play their matches against the 'colchoneros' and Osasuna (postponed). If they accumulate those six points, Hansi Flick's team will regain the advantage they had just before the start of matchday 27, where the defeat of the 'rojiblanco' team against Getafe (2-1) allowed the Catalans to maintain first place without playing.

Technical sheet of the match: Villarreal 1-2 Real Madrid

• Villarreal, 1: Diego Conde; Costa, Kambwala, Foyth, Cardona (min. 64, Pedraza); Comesaña, Baena, Gueye (min. 84, Suárez), Pépé (min. 46, Barry); Ayoze and Buchanan (min. 64, Pino).
• Real Madrid: 2: Courtois; Lucas, Tchouaméni, Asencio (min. 60, Rüdiger), Fran García; Valverde (min. 82, Güler), Camavinga, Bellingham, Brahim (min. 60, Vinicius); Rodrygo (min. 65, Modric) and Mbappé.
• Goals: 1-0, Juan Foyth (min. 7); 1-1, Kylian Mbappé (min. 17); 1-2, Kylian Mbappé (min. 23).
• Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano. He cautioned Aurélien Tchouaméni (Real Madrid) and Sergi Cardona (Villarreal) in the first half. In the second half, he also cautioned Juan Foyth for the hosts.
• Stadium: La Ceràmica
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 28 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25.