Madrid created admittedly little in the first half. Aurelien Tchouameni came closest for Los Blancos, heading wide after a clever piece of work from Vinicius. Villarreal had their chances, too. Tani Oluwaseyi ran through on goal, but was denied by a signature stop by Thibaut Courtois.
The Brazilian broke the game open in the second half. It took a wonderful piece of skill, him darting past his defender before seeing a deflected effort fly past a stranded goalkeeper. He added another after 69 minutes, winning a penalty before converting it to double Madrid’s lead. And that should have been it. But Villarreal responded, Georges Mikautadze smashing home to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes to play.
But Mbappe had the final say. The Frenchman pulled off a tidy exchange with substitute Brahim Diaz before side-footing home to kill things off – and avoid an early slip in the title race.
BALLGM rates Real Madrid‘s players from the Santiago Bernabeu…
Madrid created admittedly little in the first half. Aurelien Tchouameni came closest for Los Blancos, heading wide after a clever piece of work from Vinicius. Villarreal had their chances, too. Tani Oluwaseyi ran through on goal, but was denied by a signature stop by Thibaut Courtois.
The Brazilian broke the game open in the second half. It took a wonderful piece of skill, him darting past his defender before seeing a deflected effort fly past a stranded goalkeeper. He added another after 69 minutes, winning a penalty before converting it to double Madrid’s lead. And that should have been it. But Villarreal responded, Georges Mikautadze smashing home to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes to play.
But Mbappe had the final say. The Frenchman pulled off a tidy exchange with substitute Brahim Diaz before side-footing home to kill things off – and avoid an early slip in the title race.
BALLGM rates Real Madrid’s players from the Santiago Bernabeu…
Thibaut Courtois (7/10):
Came up with one massive save in the first half. Could do nothing about the goal.
Federico Valverde (7/10):
Reliable at right back after a difficult week of criticism. Made one excellent recovery.
Eder Militao (6/10):
Didn’t get dribbled past, but should have closed Mikautadze down a little quicker when he lashed home.
Dean Huijsen (7/10):
Unsteady here and there, but won his headers when needed. Still growing into it, but is clearly class.
Alvaro Carreras (6/10):
A really good hour until Villarreal managed to exploit his wing a bit.
Aurelien Tchouameni (6/10):
Reliable at the base of midfield. Snuffed out a couple of counterattacks.
Dani Ceballos (7/10):
A solid, tempo-controlling hour. Completed most of his passes and was reliable defensively.
Arda Guler (6/10):
Some nice moments but was otherwise rather drowned out in midfield. Looks like he needs a rest.
Franco Mastantuono (8/10):
A really clever performance on the wing. Up for the take ons, moved the ball well, and was unfortunate not to get on the scoresheet.
Kylian Mbappe (8/10):
A clever header gave Vinicius the one-on-one that led to the first goal. Bagged the third to put the game to bed.
Vinicius Jr (9/10):
On the ball a lot and ran at his man relentlessly. Grabbed a goal. Followed that by winning a penalty, which he dutifully converted. Back to something nearing his best.
Jude Bellingham (7/10):
Had two excellent chances shortly after coming on, but was denied twice. Full of legs.
Eduardo Camavinga (6/10):
A bit erratic. Won some important tackles but was also a little loose at times.
Brahim Diaz (7/10):
Assisted Mbappe to mark a fine cameo.
Rodrygo (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Xabi Alonso (7/10):
Will be pleased, all said. Madrid were better here, allowed few chances, and scored a couple of very good goals. A nice return to form against a good team.
