Villarreal

Real Madrid win 2-0 at third-placed Villarreal to climb past rivals Barcelona to the summit of the La Liga table.

Kylian Mbappe netted twice to claim a 2-0 win for Real Madrid at Villarreal and take his side to the top of La Liga.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s team moved two points clear of rivals Barcelona, who host Real Oviedo on Sunday.

La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side on Saturday, now fourth in the table.

Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions, and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.

After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete, in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm, his Madrid have started to take shape.

The coach has made clear how important his star players are, and none has been more crucial this season than Mbappe.

It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten.

Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross.

At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break.

Villarreal’s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break.

The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post.

Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid’s Champions League 6-1 rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close, with a rasping effort across Luiz Junior’s goal and wide.

The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but he was involved as Mbappe opened the scoring two minutes into the second half.

Vinicius came into the box from the left flank, and his low cross was blocked, but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range.

Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed.

In stoppage time, Mbappe was clumsily felled by Alfonso Pedraza in the box, and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid’s victory.

Follow our live build-up, with full team news coverage, before our comprehensive text commentary stream.

Barca punish 10-man hosts Villarreal to win eighth consecutive La Liga game and move four points clear at the summit.

Barcelona wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal guided the Catalan giants four points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-0 win at 10-man Villarreal.

Brazil international Raphinha won and converted an early penalty on Sunday before Villarreal’s Renato Veiga was sent off before half-time for a late lunge on teenager Yamal.

The 18-year-old slotted home Barca’s second midway through the second half, as Hansi Flick’s side restored their advantage on Real Madrid, who are second, and won an eighth consecutive league game.

Villarreal are fourth after Atletico Madrid moved ahead of them with a 3-0 win at Girona earlier on.

Flick launched into an impassioned defence of Raphinha on Saturday after he was not included in FIFA’s ‘The Best’ team of the year earlier in the week, and the winger quickly repaid his coach.

Raphinha produced an all-action display at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, where the match was played instead of in Miami, after La Liga’s plans to take this game to the United States were scrapped in October.

Barca were poor defensively and struggled in their build-up play, but the quality of wingers Raphinha and Yamal and their goalkeeper Joan Garcia’s outstanding performance decided an entertaining encounter.

Jules Kounde blocked Villarreal striker Ayoze Perez’s shot before Raphinha drew a foul from Santi Comesana to win a penalty at the other end.

The winger dispatched it confidently and nearly added the second with a superb effort from distance, which crashed back off the bar.

Kounde deflected a cross into his own net as Villarreal fought back, but the goal was disallowed for offside in the build-up.

Barca stopper Joan Garcia saved from Tajon Buchanan after an Alejandro Balde mistake as Villarreal almost levelled.

The visitors’ job was made easier by Veiga’s needless red card for an ugly, late lunge on Yamal before the interval.

The champions got their second goal after a scramble in the box, with Frenkie de Jong teeing up Yamal to fire home after 63 minutes.

Joan Garcia made stunning saves to deny Rafa Marin and Georges Mikautadze to help Barca end 2026 with three points and a third clean sheet in their last three games across all competitions.

Kounde went off hurt before the end, potentially adding to Flick’s problems at the back following Andreas Christensen’s diagnosis with a partially torn knee ligament.

Barca finish the year in better shape than rivals Real Madrid, who beat Sevilla 2-0 on Saturday, but still have plenty of their own concerns to worry about.

Barcelona captain de Jong said his side had achieved their objective of finishing the year on top of the league and will rest before the league resumes in early January.

“Villarreal are very quick on the counter; they’ve got talented players up front. We could’ve managed to be a bit better… We have to organise ourselves a bit better,” he said.

“But I felt out there on the pitch that we were superior. Not necessarily comfortable, but I think we deserved to win.”

Villarreal captain Dani Parejo said he was pleased with how his team performed, apart from conceding the penalty.

“We had loads of really good chances; we could have been more than one goal up at halftime,” he said.

“It feels like everything is going against us at the moment; teams are scoring against us with not much, but we are pleased with the image we have shown, how we played with 10 men against a great team. We showed great attitude.”