Real Madrid climbed to the summit of La Liga as Kylian Mbappé struck twice to seal a composed 2-0 victory away at Villarreal.
With Barcelona not in action until Sunday, Los Blancos made the most of their opportunity, dispatching an out-of-sorts Villarreal side that slumped to a third consecutive defeat.
Mbappé broke the deadlock moments after the interval before sealing the points with a late penalty, pushing Carlo Ancelotti’s men two points clear at the top.
The opening half offered little in the way of clear chances, though Villarreal showed early intent. A swift move down the left in the 14th minute ended with Alfonso Pedraza flashing a dangerous ball across goal, but Tajon Buchanan could not steer his effort back on target at the far post.
The hosts suffered a setback when Juan Foyth went down clutching his ankle inside the area and was forced off, with Rafa Marín introduced in his place.
Madrid gradually found their rhythm. Arda Güler sent a curling effort over from distance, while Mbappé twice threatened, first combining neatly with Vinícius Júnior before firing straight at Luiz Júnior, then watching Jude Bellingham tee up Vinícius, whose effort drifted narrowly wide.
Villarreal remained dangerous on the break and nearly snatched the lead on the stroke of half-time, Papa Gueye’s low strike bending just beyond the post.
The breakthrough arrived seconds after the restart. Vinícius kept the ball alive on the left before driving into the area, his cutback ricocheting off Gueye and falling perfectly for Mbappé to hammer home his 20th league goal of the season.
Gerard Moreno wasted a fine chance to respond just past the hour mark, blazing over after meeting Dani Parejo’s clever free-kick. Courtois was then called into action late on, comfortably dealing with Alberto Moleiro’s effort.
Bellingham continued to probe as Madrid pushed for a second, while Villarreal appeals for a penalty were waved away after Raúl Asencio slipped outside the box.
Deep into stoppage time, Mbappé was clipped by Pedraza and dusted himself off to take the resulting penalty. The Frenchman calmly chipped a Panenka down the middle, putting the result beyond doubt and capping another decisive night for Real Madrid.
