JAKARTA - Real Madrid again won a crucial victory under new coach Alvaro Arbeloa by defeating Villarreal in the Spanish LaLiga competition at the De la Ceramica Stadium, Sunday, January 25, 2026 WIB. The victory through Kylian Mbappe's brace put Madrid at the top of the standings by overtaking Barcelona.
Madrid got better after being handled by Arbeloa who replaced Xabi Alonso. After starting the task very badly when Madrid was defeated by the team from the lower division Albacete in the Copa del Rey, they immediately won three consecutive matches in the Champions League and LaLiga.
Arbeloa managed to restore the players' confidence following the failure in the Supercopa de Espana and when Madrid, who were previously leading the standings, were then moved by Barca. Now the competition is heating up again in the domestic competition.
The success of defeating Villarreal is clearly not just to get three points. The reason is, Federico Valverde et al were able to defeat the opponent in the away game. Not only that, Villarreal who is ranked fourth is not an easy opponent and is predicted to be able to stop Madrid's steps.
It is not without reason that The Yellow Submarines are considered to have the opportunity to win. Their success in breaking into the Champions League zone and competing with Madrid and Barca at the top shows that Villarreal cannot be taken lightly.
However, Mbappe finally brought Madrid three points and brought Los Merengues to the top after collecting 51 points. However, Barca who dropped to second place can still reclaim the throne if they beat their guests Real Oviedo, Sunday night. Barca is only two points behind so they need a win to displace Madrid.
Meanwhile, Villarreal is stuck in fourth place with 41 points. They failed to displace Atletico Madrid who took third place. Although they have the same points, Villarreal lost by a goal difference.
In the match, both teams played openly. This makes the match intense because they both put pressure. There was just no attack that endangered the opponent's goal throughout the first half.
Villarreal had pressure through Georges Mikautadze when receiving a cross from his tandem in the front line of Gerard Moreno. Only his kick was still wide.
Madrid also threatened the hosts' goal through Arda Guler. At least, he had two chances but couldn't maximize it. His shot could be blocked by goalkeeper Luiz Junior. Furthermore, his kick still soared high.
Villarreal got another chance through Pape Gueye. The kick from the player who just led Senegal to win the African Cup of Nations was still wide. No goal was scored, making the score still 0-0 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, Madrid tried to increase the pressure. Through Vinicius Junior who has not scored again in 13 matches in LaLiga, Madrid's attack was able to trouble Villarreal's defense.
It turned out that the match only lasted two minutes, Madrid managed to break the host's goal. The goal started from the action of Vinicius Jr who penetrated from the left side of the opponent's defense. He then delivered a cross that could still be blocked. However, the ball then fell at the feet of Mbappe who immediately snatched it. Mbappe's close-range shot gave Madrid a 1-0 lead.
In the losing position, Villarreal actually tried to rise to equalize the score. At least Moreno got the chance to score. Unfortunately his kick still soared.
Madrid again put pressure. But their efforts only bore fruit towards the end of the match. Entering injury time, Mbappe was brought down by defender Alfonso Pedraza in the penalty box. The referee also pointed to the white spot.
Mbappe himself then took the penalty. The panenka shot of the captain of the French national team successfully fooled goalkeeper Luiz Junior.
The goal made Mbappe the league's top scorer after scoring 21 goals this season. The score changed 2-0 for Madrid and lasted until the end of the match.
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