Real Madrid defeated Villarreal with a final score of 2-0 in the 21st round of LaLiga, at the “Estadio de la Ceramica”, Kylian Mbappe managing to score twice in the second half, the second goal being scored from a 11-meter kick, from the “panenka”. The team led by Alvaro Arbeloa achieved its third consecutive success in all competitions and climbed to first position in the general standings, having an extra match over Barcelona. The students trained by Marcelino missed the chance to provisionally move onto the podium, and the poor form in the UEFA Champions League is continued in the domestic competition.
Villareal and Real Madrid faced off in a duel that was played at the “Estadio de la Ceramica” in what was the “headline” of the 21st round of the Spanish championship. Before the starting whistle of this game, the group coached by Marcelino occupied the fourth place in the hierarchy, with a total of 41 points accumulated, being tied, in this respect, with Atletico Madrid. On the other hand, the team trained by Alvaro Arbeloa was in the second position in the general classification, seven lengths ahead of the “yellow submarine” and being in search of the third victory in a row on all “fronts” since the installation on the technical bench of the former manager of Real Madrid “Castilla”.
In the UEFA Champions League, in the middle of last week, Villareal lost at home to Ajax Amsterdam, while the “Los Blancos” team “stormed” AS Monaco, at the “Bernabeu”, with a difference of five goals. In the most recent round of LaLiga, the “yellow submarine” had lost, away, in the company of Real Betis, final score 0-2, unlike the club from the Spanish capital who had achieved a triumph in front of their own fans against Levante. In their own “home”, in the last five official matches played, Villareal, before “bringing to blows” with the “giant” from Madrid, had scored two victories and three failures.
In the opposing camp, in the same time interval, the confrontations that took place away ended with a balance of three successes and another two defeats in all competitions. Marcelino was without Pau Cabanes, Santi Comesana, Logan Costa, Willy Kambwala and Santiago Mourino for this match, while his counterpart on the Real Madrid bench was unable to include Aurelien Tchouameni in the small squad that was called up for this match due to a suspension, respectively Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Trent Alexander-Arnold, all of the latter mentioned being injured.
In the previous season in the Spanish domestic championship, the direct game that was played between Villareal and Real Madrid ended triumphantly for the guests, after Kylian Mbappe scored twice and turned the score on the scoreboard. In fact, the last success achieved by the group at the “Estadio de la Ceramica” against the “los blancos” band in front of their own fans was in January 2023, when Yeremy Pino and Gerard Moreno would cancel out Karim Benzema’s penalty. The duel in January 2026 began with a goal opportunity belonging to the Turkish footballer, Arda Guler, who, after easily dribbling two opponents, entered the box and shot at the short corner, but Luiz Junior held the ball back in two moments.
Later, a recovery by Alvaro Carreras allowed Kylian Mbappe to enter the combination with Vinicius Junior, and the Brazilian player placed the ball for the team’s “ten-yard” to complete, but the French striker shot weakly, on foot, into the center of the opponent’s goal. The opening of the scoring came after an error inside the penalty area, a few seconds after the start of the second half, when the pass sent into the penalty area by Vinicius Junior was rejected, from the ground, by Pape Gueye, directly into the boot of Kylian Mbappe, and the Madrid forward completed without much emotion from close range to bring his team into the lead.
An opportunity to equalize the situation on the scoreboard appeared a few minutes later, when Daniel Parejo launched Gerard Moreno deep, but the execution of the first of the hosts’ “seven”, from a volley, went past the posts defended by Thibaut Courtois. The same “duo” later contributed to another miss by Villareal, when, from a free kick executed from an angle, the Spanish striker of the “yellow submarine” shot just over the crossbar of the goal of the “Bernabeu”. The decisive blow was provided by Kylian Mbappe, in the additional minutes of the duel, when the visitors’ “tenor” obtained a penalty which he converted elegantly, with a “panenka”.
He managed to score goal number 21 of the current LaLiga season, dominating authoritatively in this regard, and Real Madrid left the “Estadio de la Ceramica” with all the points, having the privilege of “sleeping” on the first step of the general hierarchy, until Barcelona plays in this round. The “Galactics” will face Rayo Vallecano, in the next round of the Iberian championship, in what will be a “derby” of the city, while Villareal, the fourth-place holder at the end of this defeat, will travel to Pamplona to meet Osasuna.