Villarreal 0-2 Real Madrid (Mbappé x2). An important win.… This is the reaction to the tight victory. Coming up: Player ratings, interviews and a podcast.
Villarreal began the day in third, just one place
behind Real Madrid. Los Blancos found themselves just a point behind league leaders Barcelona, however – meaning that every game was now a chance to turn things around in spectacular fashion. Brahim Díaz was back from international duty, but found himself on the bench as the starting team remained largely unchanged. Fede Valverde captained the team.
This was evidently going to be a close affair from the get-go, with with both teams creating small chances without properly testing each other. A Vinicius Júnior foul to put himself clean through was the most controversial act of the half, with many fans missing the obvious shove on a defender. The half would end 0-0, with fans hoping for a lot more in the second 45.
Those hopes would be met, and Kylian Mbappé put Real Madrid ahead immediately after the whilst for the second half. The game would continue to be tense from here, though – with Villarreal hitting the bar in another half of few opportunities. Just as it looked like Real Madrid were going to sneak away with a 1-0 win – they managed to sneak away with a 2-0 win. Kylian Mbappé secured his second of the game from the penalty spot in added time. Full time: 2-0 to Real Madrid. What did you think about the game?
