VILLARREAL: Kylian Mbappe scored twice to help Real Madrid fight back to beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday despite coach Carlo Ancelotti’s complaints that his team was “exhausted”.

Real provisionally top the table with 60 points, three clear of second-placed Barce­lona, who have a game in hand after their match with Osasuna was postponed last week.

Real were unhappy the game was taking place fewer than 72 hours after their Champions League win on penalties against Atletico on Wednesday.

“The team has something special, character, commitment,” Ancelotti told reporters, insisting Los Blancos would refuse to play without “72 hours of rest” between matches as recommended by world football governing body FIFA.

However despite their complaints they had enough in the tank to beat their opponents, fifth, at the Estadio de la Ceramica.

“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.”

The hosts opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Alex Baena’s corner was deflected by Aurelien Tchouameni, allowing Juan Foyth to score from close range.

Real levelled 10 minutes later when Mbappe pounced on Brahim Diaz’s blocked shot and the ball landed at his feet for a close-range finish.

Six minutes later, the French international scored his 20th league goal of the season, latching on to Lucas Vazquez’s through ball and slotting home.

Mbappe had a chance to complete his hat-trick in the second half when he latched onto Vinicius Jr’s through ball, but the offside flag was raised.

“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,” Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told Real Madrid TV.

Earlier, Mallorca beat Espanyol 2-1 with a late Vedat Muriqi penalty, with the target man making amends after scoring an own goal and missing another spot-kick.

Celta Vigo beat bottom of the table Valladolid 1-0, inflicting their 20th defeat of the season.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025