Real Madrid played another good match under the leadership of Arvalo Arbeloa and recorded their third consecutive victory in all tournaments, sportal.bg reported.
"The Whites" won their away game against third-placed Villarreal 2-0. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring at the very beginning of the second half and scored from a penalty at the end of the match. The success temporarily put Real at the top with a two-point lead over Barcelona, who play tomorrow.
"The Whites" started aggressively and in the second minute they had an opportunity after a foul by Foyth against Bellingham. However, Valverde's shot did not lead to anything dangerous. The hosts did not allow themselves to be pressured, quickly equalized the game and began to attack. They organized several dangerous attacks, but they were unable to finish them in the best possible way and did not reach accurate shots.
Marcelinho's team had the advantage in this period, and the guests were unable to create anything in the forward positions. In the 18th minute, a magnificent pass from Moreno found Mikoutadze. The Georgian shot from a difficult position from the air and sent the ball over the goal. Real immediately responded with an excellent breakthrough by Arda Guler, and his shot was saved by the home goalkeeper. This gave rise to more active actions by the guests, and the Turk had another opportunity to shoot a little later, but this time it was inaccurate.
Mbappe took his first shot in the 27th minute after a double with Vinicius, but did not trouble the goalkeeper. A calmer period followed, in which Arbeloa's team had possession of the ball for a longer time, but did not find gaps in the opponent's excellently organized defense. Towards the end of the half, there were several situations in front of both goals. First, Vinicius brilliantly broke free from the defense and fired a shot, and the ball went close to the post. Then Mikautadze shot, but it didn't really bother Courtois. In a quick attack by the guests, Mbappe brought Vinicius alone against the goalkeeper, but the referee stopped the attack because of a foul by the Brazilian. Pape Gay, who returned from winning the African Cup of Nations with Senegal, fired a nice shot and the ball didn't go far from Courtois' right post.
"The Whites" took the lead at the very beginning of the second half. Vinicius entered the penalty area, overcame Navarro and tried to find a teammate from the touchline. A Villarreal defender blocked the pass, but the ball reached Mbappe, who sent it into the net. The Frenchman scored his 20th goal in La Liga this season. Vinicius was causing serious problems for the home team's defense and on the next break found Bellingham in the penalty area, but the defenders managed to deal with him.
In the second half, Arbeloa's team had more control and did not allow Villarreal to attack. With one exception. Gerard Moreno missed a great opportunity to equalize in the 62nd minute. He received the ball in a great position, but sent it over the goal. Courtois made a routine save later, when Moleiro fired a precise shot.
Mbappe could have scored a second goal in the 82nd minute. He was brought down brilliantly by Camavinga, but he did not control the ball well and a home team defender blocked him. The Frenchman still managed to score after creating a penalty at the end of the match and converting it. Mbappe converted the penalty kick in the style of "Panenka" in front of Braim Dias, who came on as a substitute. Kylian then went to hug his teammate, who had taken a penalty in the same way but missed it in the Africa Cup of Nations final, costing Morocco the trophy.