Madrid Beat Villarreal, Barcelona And Atletico In Pressure

Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe after scoring (@realmadrid)

JAKARTA - Real Madrid temporarily topped the 2024/25 LaLiga standings after beating Villarreal 2-1 in the 28th week match at El Madrigal Stadium on Sunday morning WIB.

A pair of goals from Kylian Mbappe confirmed a victory for Real Madrid, while Villarreal had taken the lead through Juan Foyth's goal.

With an additional three points, Carlo Ancelotti's squad moved up to the top of the standings with 60 points, three points ahead of Barcelona in second and four points from Atletico Madrid in third.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will only face off on Monday, March 17, early morning WIB. Meanwhile, Villarreal is stuck in fifth place with 44 points, according to a report from the official Spanish League website.

Villarreal opened the scoring first with a quick goal when the game had only been running for seven minutes. Receiving a rebound, Juan Foyth, overshadowed by two Madrid players, was able to open fire in the penalty box.

Raul Asencio had tried to throw the ball away, but the ball still went into Real Madrid's goal, making Villarreal 1-0 up.

However, the hosts' advantage did not last long. Kylian Mbappe equalized the score in the 17th minute after cheating on the ball from the reflection of Brahim Diaz's shot. The position is 1-1.

Six minutes later, Mbappe again listed his name on the scoreboard. The strike scheme from the right side was completed by the French striker with a powerful shot that went to the right post of Villarreal's goal. Real Madrid turned 2-1 up.

In the second half, Villarreal continued to press. Thierno Barry almost scored with a header in the 49th minute, but the ball bounced narrowly over the crossbar.

Substitute Arda Guler also came close to widening Real Madrid's lead in the 87th minute, but his shot still bounced over the bar.

Real Madrid were finally able to maintain their lead 2-1 until the game was over.

Lineup Of Players

Villarreal (4-4-2): Diego Conde; Sergi Cardona, Willy Kambwala, Logan Costa, Juan Foyth; Alex Baena, Pape Gueye, Santi Comesana, Tajon Buchanan; Ayoze Perez, Nicolas Pepe.

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Thibaut Courtois; Fran Garcia, Aurelien Tchouameni, Raul Asencio, Lucas Vazquez; Eduardo Camavinga, Federico Valverde; Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Brahim Diaz; Kylian Mbappe.