Mbappe’s Double At Villarreal Takes ‘Exhausted’ Real Madrid Top

Despite coach Carlo Ancelotti’s claims that his team was “exhausted,” Kylian Mbappe’s brace and 2-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday helped Real Madrid top the La Liga title.

Los Blancos defeated rivals Barcelona in a crucial match on Sunday to move three points clear of them with two extra games against third-place Atletico Madrid.

Madrid were disappointed that the game was being played less than 72 hours after their Champions League penalty victory against Atletico on Wednesday.

According to Ancelotti, “the team has something special, character, commitment,” and that Madrid would not allow for “72 hours of rest” between matches as recommended by FIFA, the world’s premier soccer organization.

However, despite their criticisms, they still managed to defeat their fifth-placed opponents at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

The team ended up exhausted, but that was expected, said Ancelotti, “but we kept going on a physical level, especially in the second half.”

“This victory speaks a lot about this team and the strength of this squad,” the team’s captain said.

Following their humiliating victory over Atletico in the last 16, Ancelotti started with Vinicius Junior on the bench.

Thibaut Courtois’ powerful right-footed shot sailed well over Villarreal’s post, which was well received.

Villarreal took the lead from the corner that ended, with Juan Foyth smashing home from close range after rebounding the ball.

After 17 minutes, Mbappe levelled for Ancelotti’s side and quickly responded.

Diego Conde saved Brahim Diaz’s attempted lob with little fuss, but the French striker deflected the rebound.

Soon after Lucas Vazquez found him in the middle of the box, Mbappe quickly scored his second, spreading the ball to the right and finishing with ease.

Mbappe’s 20th league goal of the year came against Robert Lewandowski, the top scorer for Barcelona.

With their lead in hand, Madrid put on more pressure in the second half, with Courtois and Nicolas Pepe scoring well.

At the break, Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral sent Thierno Barry to Pepe in order to prevent Madrid’s first La Liga home defeat since 2017.

Foyth might have leveled early in the second half, but he did so with a clever volley over the bar.

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Vinicius and Luka Modric were sent in by Ancelotti to try to put the game to bed, and the enthralling hosts were given some control once more.

Conde saved from Fede Valverde, but Perez made a sharp turn and powerful effort that flew just over Courtois’ crossbar, which was as close as his side could get a leveller.

The start wasn’t ideal, Courtois said, but that’s normal when you’ve got so little rest, and it’s hard on the legs. However, we quickly returned, we defended well, we were exhausted, and we showed some commitment,” Courtois said.

At the Metropolitano stadium, Ancelotti and his side can now watch the two rival teams play one another.

“We needed to win today, and I’m going to watch it because it’s going to be a very entertaining game,” said Ancelotti.

“Tomorrow, I won’t be a football fan,” the statement read.

The target man made amends after scoring an own goal and missing another spot-kick with a late Vedat Muriqi penalty that had earlier defeated Espanyol 2-1.

Celta Vigo suffered their 20th defeat of the season by defeating bottom-of-the-table Valladolid 1-0.

Source: Channels TV