Villarreal 0-2 Real Madrid, La Liga 2025-26: Kylian Mbappe Brace Sends Arbeloa's Men To League Summit

Real Madrid moved to the top of LaLiga after they defeated Villarreal 2-0 at Estadio de la Ceramica.

Kylian Mbappe scored a brace for Madrid, finding the back of the net in the 47th minute before securing the win from the penalty spot to move Los Blancos two points above Barcelona, who host Real Oviedo on Sunday.

With Villarreal still within an outside chance of winning the league title, it was a cagey start from both sides. The best chance of the first half fell to Arda Guler in the 20th minute as he dribbled past a number of challenges before shooting straight at Luiz Junior.

Mbappe then broke the deadlock early in the first half, though it was Vinicius Junior who did much of the hard work. The Brazilian winger dribbled past Pau Navarro before Pape Gueye blocked his low cross, but Mbappe reacted quickest to score from the rebound.

The Frenchman's goal seemed to open up the match, as both he and Vinicius saw shots blocked before Alberto Moleiro tested Thibaut Courtois at the other end with a tame effort.

Alvaro Arbeloa's side then wrapped up in the win in stoppage-time, with Mbappe scoring a Panenka from the penalty spot after being brought down by Alfonso Pedraza.

Data Debrief: Madrid's reliable defence

It was not a contest filled with goalmouth action, but Madrid's quality in attack helped them come out on top. Los Blancos created 1.58 expected goals (xG) from 14 shots to Villarreal's 0.58 from eight attempts.

Franco Mastantuono has seen a resurgence in minutes following his return from injury, and he put in a battling display to repay Arbeloa's faith. He won the second-most duels for his side (nine) and second-most tackles (three), while also regaining possession six times.

And after another resolute defensive display, Madrid are the only team in Europe's top five leagues yet to concede a shot on target in the first half of a match in 2026.