Kylian Mbappe struck twice in the second half as Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and climbed above Barcelona to take provisional pole position in La Liga.
The win moved Alvaro Arbeloa’s side to 51 points, two points ahead of second-place Barcelona, who host bottom-ranked Oviedo on Sunday. Villarreal are fourth, level with Atletico Madrid.
Real dominated from the start, with Vinicius Jr. caused endless problems on the left flank.
The Brazilian’s crucial moment came just after half-time when he flew past defenders and brought Mbappe inside the penalty area in the 47th minute, leaving the French forward with an easy finish from close range.
Real continued to control the tempo and Mbappe sealed the win in stoppage time after making an awkward mistake in the penalty area from the penalty spot.
REAL DICTATOR COMPELLING ENCOUNTER
In a riveting first-half encounter, Real dictated the rhythm as the home side tried to hit back with quick counter-attacks.
Vinicius came closest to a breakthrough in the first half, narrowly missing the target with a low shot in the 40th minute after a surging run.
Villarreal’s best chance came thanks to the powerful effort of Senegalese midfielder Pape Gueye from the edge of the penalty area, who went just wide just before half time.
The second half started with drama when Gueye’s misplaced pass was intercepted by Vinicius two minutes later.
The Brazilian darted into the penalty area, reached the byline and cut the ball back for Mbappé. Villarreal’s defense partially managed to clear the ball, but Mbappé reacted quickest and blasted the rebound into the net for his first goal of the evening.
Villarreal’s best chance came in the 62nd minute when Gerard Moreno, unmarked in the penalty area after a precise pass from Dani Parejo, fired his first shot over the crossbar.
Real sealed the victory in stoppage time. Vinicius released Mbappe with a perfectly balanced pass and as the Frenchman burst into the penalty area he was brought down from behind by Alfonso Pedraza.
Mbappe, the competition’s top scorer, calmly fired the resulting penalty into the center of the goal for his 21st goal in 20 La Liga appearances this season.
“(Vinicius and Mbappe) are the two best in the world,” manager Alvaro Arbeloa said Real Madrid television.
“They are very disruptive. We try to get them to touch the ball as much as possible, explore situations where Vini can go wide and Kylian can break into space.
«We are very happy to have them in this form. They are the first two to apply pressure, help the midfielders, show the solidarity we need from them, and we are very happy that the reward comes in the form of goals.»
Published on January 25, 2026
