Kylian Mbappe’s double fired Real Madrid to the top of La Liga with a 2-1 victory over Villarreal on Saturday.
Los Blancos extended their lead over rivals Barcelona to three points, though having played two more matches, with the Catalan side set to face third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday in a crucial title-race showdown.
Madrid were frustrated by the scheduling, playing less than 72 hours after their dramatic Champions League penalty shootout win over Atletico on Wednesday.
However, despite their concerns, they had enough energy to secure the win against fifth-placed Villarreal at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti began with Vinicius Junior on the bench after the draining victory against Atletico in the last 16.
Villarreal started strongly and Thibaut Courtois got down well to his right to tip Ayoze Perez’s shot around the post.
From the resulting corner Villarreal took the lead, with the ball rebounding to Foyth, who smashed home from close range.
Ancelotti’s side hit back quickly, with Mbappe levelling after 17 minutes.
Brahim Diaz’s attempted lob was saved by Diego Conde, but the French striker dispatched the rebound with minimal fuss.
Soon Mbappe had his second, helping to spread the ball to the right and then finishing with aplomb after Lucas Vazquez found him in the middle of the box.
It was Mbappe’s 20th league goal of the season, putting him one behind the top scorer, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
Content with their lead Madrid soaked up Villarreal pressure in the rest of the first half, with Courtois saving well from Nicolas Pepe.
Villarreal coach Marcelino Garcia Toral sent on Thierno Barry for Pepe at the break, as the Yellow Submarine looked to avoid a first home defeat in La Liga by Madrid since 2017.
Foyth might have levelled early in the second half but volleyed over the bar when well placed.
Ancelotti introduced Vinicius Jr. and Luka Modric in an effort to help Real Madrid close out the game, allowing them to regain some control against a lively Villarreal side.
Fede Valverde forced a save from Conde, while at the other end, Perez came closest to equalizing with a sharp turn and a powerful strike that whistled just over Courtois’ crossbar—the closest Villarreal came to a leveller.
Earlier in the day, Mallorca secured a 2-1 victory over Espanyol thanks to a late Vedat Muriqi penalty.
The striker redeemed himself after earlier scoring an own goal and missing another spot-kick.
Meanwhile, Celta Vigo edged bottom-placed Valladolid 1-0, handing them their 20th defeat of the season.