Villarreal 1 – Real Madrid 2, two goals from Kylian Mbappé in the 17th and 23rd minutes.
It was a tough and complicated match, especially since Real Madrid had not won at La Cerámica in the past eight years—until today.
Making things even harder, the team arrived physically exhausted. The club even complained and stated that they will no longer play matches without at least 72 hours of rest between games, a FIFA rule that was not met today. (Meanwhile, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid play tomorrow, meaning they get more than 24 extra hours of rest.)
The match started off rough, with Villarreal coming out strong and intense, quickly taking the lead with a goal from Foyth in the 7th minute.
The referee didn’t help either, allowing many fouls from Villarreal to go unpunished. To make matters worse, Tchouaméni received a yellow card for his first foul, despite getting the ball—a decision that made things much more difficult, though luckily, it wasn’t decisive.
Mbappé rescue team
Today, the hero was Kylian Mbappé. In his first two chances, he scored twice, reaching 20 league goals—just one behind Robert Lewandowski.
Un 𝒅𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 vital para el Real Madrid.
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) March 15, 2025
Un 𝒅𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 con la firma de Mbappé.#LaCasaDelFútbol #LALIGAEASPORTS pic.twitter.com/lNTC5B8IwK
The match got complicated, forcing substitutions: Vinícius and Rüdiger had to come off, followed later by Modrić and Arda Güler. Modrić brought more control to the game, but even then, the team had to suffer until the very end as Villarreal created several chances.
The players finished completely exhausted, but we won! A crucial victory and three important points that put us at the top of the table, although Barcelona still has two games in hand.
🤳 @KMbappe tiene un mensaje para vosotros, Madridistas! pic.twitter.com/jE17zAJZwK
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) March 15, 2025