Victory against Villarreal courtesy of an Mbappé brace

Real Madrid are not letting up in their battle for the LaLiga title. Our team secured their fifth consecutive league victory at the Estadio de la Cerámica thanks to a brace from Mbappé, who has now scored 34 goals this season, and finish the day top of the table. The first goal came early in the second half and the second came in added time from a penalty that he himself won. Arbeloa's side were solid and dug deep to secure a hard-fought win away to Villarreal.

The first half was very fast-paced, although the dangerous moments took a while to arrive. Arda Güler tried his luck with a right-footed shot inside the area after a nice individual move in the 20th minute, and seven minutes later, Mbappé tried his luck from the edge of the area, but a well-positioned Júnior R. prevented both shots from finding the net. Vini Jr. had a much clearer chance in the 40th minute after another recovery in the opposition's half. The Brazilian's left-footed shot fizzed across goal and missed the target by inches.

Mbappé scores
The game changed after the break. Vini Jr. got away from Pau Navarro and played the ball back in the 47th minute, Gueye intercepted the ball and Mbappé quickly appeared to beat Júnior R. with a left-footed shot that crept between the goalkeeper's legs. 0-1 and the Frenchman's third consecutive game in which he has scored. Villarreal could have equalised in the 63rd minute from a set piece, but Gerard Moreno's shot from inside the area went over the bar.

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The minutes ticked by and our team remained solid. They barely suffered at the back and could even have extended their lead in the 82nd minute. Camavinga played a through ball to Mbappé inside the area, but just as he was about to shoot, Rafa Marín appeared to deflect the ball for a corner. The 0-2 came in added time and was the fruit of Mbappé's work, who converted a Panenka-style penalty that he himself had won after being brought down by Pedraza. He has now scored 34 goals this season, 21 of them in LaLiga. Real Madrid secured a hard-fought victory at the Estadio de la Cerámica.