Real Madrid secured a 2-1 victory against Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice to push his team to the top of La Liga standings.
The win placed Real Madrid three points ahead of Barcelona, who have two games in hand and face third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday in a crucial championship match.
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Real Madrid expressed dissatisfaction about playing less than 72 hours after their Champions League penalty shootout victory against Atletico on Wednesday.
“The team has something special, character, commitment,” Ancelotti told reporters, insisting Madrid would refuse to play without “72 hours of rest” between matches as recommended by world football governing body FIFA.
Despite their fatigue concerns, Real Madrid managed to overcome fifth-placed Villarreal.
“We kept going on a physical level, above all in the second half, the team ended up exhausted, but that was to be expected,” said Ancelotti. “It’s a win that says a lot about this team and the ability this squad has.”
Carlo Ancelotti rested Vinicius Junior following the demanding Champions League match against Atletico.
Villarreal started strongly with Ayoze Perez’s shot being saved by Thibaut Courtois, before Juan Foyth scored from the resulting corner to give them the lead.
Madrid responded quickly through Mbappe, who scored after Diego Conde saved Brahim Diaz’s attempted lob.
Mbappe then secured his second goal after combining with Lucas Vazquez, bringing his season total to 20 league goals, just one behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
Real Madrid defended their lead for the remainder of the first half, with Courtois making a crucial save from Nicolas Pepe.
Villarreal made tactical changes at halftime, bringing on Thierno Barry for Pepe as they sought to maintain their strong home record against Madrid.
Juan Foyth missed an opportunity to equalize early in the second half.
‘A football fan’
“The start wasn’t the best but that’s normal with little rest that it’s hard on the legs, but then we came back quickly, we defended well, we were very tired but the commitment we showed was important,” Courtois told Real Madrid TV.
Ancelotti brought on Vinicius and Luka Modric to strengthen Madrid’s control, while both teams created chances through Fede Valverde and Ayoze Perez.
“Tomorrow I will be a football fan, and nothing more,” said Ancelotti, referring to the upcoming match between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
In other La Liga matches, Mallorca defeated Espanyol 2-1 with Vedat Muriqi scoring a decisive penalty, while Celta Vigo secured a 1-0 win against bottom-placed Valladolid.
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