Kylian Mbappé scored twice to lead Real Madrid to a 2-1 comeback win at Villarreal and move three points clear atop the Spanish league on Saturday.
Mbappé scored in the 17th minute to cancel out Juan Foyth’s opener for the hosts before the France striker put Madrid ahead for good six minutes later.
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Long gone are the scoring troubles Mbappé endured in his first months at Madrid. His brace at Villarreal took Mbappe’s La Liga tally to 20 goals, only one fewer than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski. He has 31 goals across all competitions since joining from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
Barcelona is three points behind Madrid but has played two games less. Hansi Flick’s side visits third-placed Atletico Madrid, which is four points back, on Sunday. It also has a postponed game versus Osasuna still to be played.
Villarreal made it a pulsating game as it attacked in waves with Alex Baena and Nicolas Pepe helping create a series of chances. Thibaut Courtois made three good stops for Madrid to deny Pepe, Ayoze Pérez, and Pape Gueye in the first half.
But Villarreal paid at the other end where Mbappé ruthlessly exploited the holes in the Yellow Submarine’s defense.
Carlo Ancelotti left Vinícius Júnior and Antonio Rudiger on the bench until the final half hour – with Luka Modric going on shortly after – as the Madrid coach rotated his lineup three days after its grueling Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid that went to a penalty shootout.
