MADRID ARE TOP: MBAPPé’S DOUBLE AT VILLARREAL SENDS A MESSAGE TO STRUGGLING BARCELONA
Real Madrid move two points clear of Barcelona after Kylian Mbappé's brace seals a 2-0 win over Villarreal at the Ceramica.
Real Madrid’s fans have had a rough time lately—first a coaching shake-up, then some ugly performances. Still, on Saturday, Madrid climbed right back to the top of La Liga. Kylian Mbappé showed up big, scoring twice in a 2-0 win at Villarreal. The first came early in the second half; the second, a penalty deep in injury time, sealed the deal. With those goals, Mbappé now leads the league with 21 goals in 20 matches. He’s on fire.
This win put Madrid two points above Barcelona. Now, Barcelona has to beat last-place Real Oviedo at home on Sunday if it wants to snatch first place back.
The weird thing is, Madrid’s been hanging close to Barcelona even while the team’s been playing below its own sky-high standards. Nobody at the club is happy about that—not the bosses, not the fans. The board even fired Xabi Alonso after Madrid lost the Super Cup final to Barcelona two weeks ago. Then, in his first game, new coach Álvaro Arbeloa had to watch his team get knocked out of the Copa del Rey by a second-tier club. Ouch.
Naturally, fans were furious. They protested during Madrid’s last two home games. But somehow, Madrid won both of those—one in La Liga, one in the Champions League. Last weekend, Barcelona slipped up and lost at Real Sociedad, opening the door. Madrid barged through it at Villarreal. Now, with Arbeloa in charge, Madrid’s rattled off three straight wins, all pretty comfortable.
After the match, Arbeloa gave credit to Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior. Vinícius, who just got booed at the Bernabeu this week, played a huge part in both goals. Arbeloa simply said, “They’re two of the best in the world. We want them on the ball as much as possible. Winning here really means something, and my whole team deserves credit.”
Villarreal, with a game in hand, dropped to fourth, ten points behind Madrid.
On the Villarreal side, Senegal’s Pape Gueye—fresh off his heroics in the Africa Cup of Nations final—returned to the starting eleven. He nearly scored in the first half with a rocket from outside the box. Madrid’s Brahim Díaz, who missed a crucial penalty for Morocco in that same final, came on as a second-half sub.
The opening goal came in the 47th minute. Vinícius charged down the left and squared the ball; Gueye deflected it, but Mbappé reacted first and hammered it under Luiz Júnior. Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno had a golden chance to tie it up in the 63rd minute, but he blasted over. Later, Mbappé won and scored a penalty after Alfonso Pedraza tripped him.
Villarreal also lost defender Juan Foyth to a left leg injury in the first half.
Elsewhere, Espanyol’s struggles continued. Valencia edged them 3-2 thanks to a controversial penalty in stoppage time—Rubén Sánchez got called for a foul on Lucas Beltrán, but honestly, it looked like Beltrán ran into him. VAR let it stand. Largie Ramazani put away the spot kick, so Espanyol is now four games without a win.
In the lower half of the table, Sevilla snapped a five-game winless streak by beating Athletic Bilbao 2-1 at home. Osasuna took down Rayo Vallecano 3-1 and jumped up to eighth. There’s barely any breathing room down there—only four points separate eighth-place Osasuna from Getafe in 17th, with Rayo, Sevilla, and Athletic all bunched in.
Before every match this weekend, teams held a minute’s silence for the victims of two deadly train crashes in Spain. It was a sobering moment in a wild week of football.
WHY DID REAL MADRID CHOOSE TO KEEP ENDRICK DESPITE MASSIVE PREMIER LEAGUE INTEREST?
After a stellar loan at Lyon, Endrick will return to Real Madrid this summer alongside Jacobo Ramón to form a new youth core.
Real Madrid has zero plans to let Endrick leave this summer. That’s what we’re hearing, even with Arsenal and Chelsea knocking on their door. We’ve also got some updates on Jacobo Ramon’s future.
Endrick is finishing his loan at Lyon on a high note. He’s put up seven goals and seven assists in just 18 games, and people are excited about what he could do long-term.
The 19-year-old forward from Brazil wanted more game time after struggling for chances with Xabi Alonso in charge at Madrid, so he pushed for a loan. Now, with Alonso gone, Endrick’s focused on forcing his way into Brazil’s World Cup squad, and honestly, the way he’s been playing lately, he’s making a strong argument.
Big clubs are paying attention. Arsenal and Chelsea have both checked in recently to see if Madrid would be open to a deal for him this summer.
But Madrid’s answer? No chance. They’ve told both clubs straight up: Endrick’s coming back to the Bernabéu, and he’s in their first-team plans for next season.
Endrick’s on board with that, too. He wants to stay and fight for a spot, a real chance to prove himself as a regular in Madrid’s lineup.
Florentino Perez backs him all the way; he still believes Endrick is the best young talent out there. The club isn’t about to change its mind.
Endrick’s not the only Madrid youth getting attention from the Premier League. Arsenal and Chelsea have also been checking in about Jacobo Ramon, the young centre-back playing for Como in Italy right now.
Ramon’s been playing alongside Nico Paz under Cesc Fabregas and has done well. Even though he moved from Madrid to Como last summer, Madrid made sure to keep buy-back and sell-on clauses, so it’s almost like he’s still a Madrid player on loan.
Now, the plan is for Ramon to return to Madrid this summer with Endrick and Paz. The club’s looking to keep its young core together and build the future around them.
Lots of clubs are watching Ramon; more than six want to sign him. But honestly, Madrid’s stance is pretty clear: just like with Endrick, they aren’t budging.
So for Arsenal, Chelsea, and anyone else hoping to swoop in, the message is simple. Madrid is keeping their best young talents. They’re not letting them go.
HOW HECTOR BELLERIN’S 94TH-MINUTE STUNNER PUSHED REAL MADRID TO THE TITLE BRINK
Real Madrid's title hopes faded after a 1-1 draw with Real Betis. Discover the impact of Bellerin’s goal and Mbappe’s injury.
Real Madrid’s La Liga dreams took a big hit Friday night when Héctor Bellerín scored a 94th-minute equaliser, earning Real Betis a 1-1 draw. With that late goal, Madrid now sit eight points behind Barcelona, and if Barça win their next match, they could pull even further away with just a handful of games left.
Madrid actually started strong in Seville. Vinícius Jr took advantage of a goalkeeping mistake and put them ahead early in the 17th minute. After that, Madrid had control for large stretches, but it just didn’t translate into goals. Kylian Mbappé had one ruled out for offside, and Jude Bellingham, along with the rest of Madrid’s attack, missed some big chances. It all came back to haunt them when, in the dying seconds, Bellerín capitalised on the chaos at the back and smashed in the equaliser.
People are talking about Madrid’s defence and not in a good way. They’ve failed to keep a clean sheet for ten straight league games. The last time the backline struggled this much in a single season was way back in 2003-04, when Carlos Queiroz was in charge. This run has cost Madrid dearly, with dropped points piling up right when the title race is heating up.
This result marks Madrid’s fifth league draw this season, another missed chance that opens the door for Hansi Flick’s relentless Barcelona to run away with the title. With their Champions League hopes already gone, Madrid are now staring at what could be just their fifth season without a trophy this century. About the only bright spot? Mbappé made his 100th appearance for the club, becoming just the tenth Frenchman to reach that milestone for Madrid. Still, even that was undercut; he limped off with a suspected hamstring injury about ten minutes from the end.
Honestly, the title now looks like a lost cause. If Barcelona beat Getafe, they will go 11 points clear. Madrid has two tough away fixtures next: Espanyol, then Barcelona in a do-or-die El Clásico that could finish off their title hopes for good. With their form stalling and Barça flying, Madrid now need a minor miracle and a huge Barcelona slip-up to avoid ending this season empty-handed.
Must Read
