Real Madrid risk falling further behind Barcelona in the LaLiga title race after suffering a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Yellow Submarine twice pegged back their hosts, with Samuel Chukwueze the key man as he produced two goals and an assist, including a superb winner.
A Pau Torres own goal had given Madrid the lead before Chukwueze tucked home an equaliser, with substitute Jose Morales then levelling the score again after Vinicius Junior had put Madrid back in front following a fine solo run.
However, Chukwueze struck again in a dramatic final 10 minutes to give Villarreal a famous win, with Madrid seeing a late penalty award overturned by VAR.
Vinicius was quickly pulling the strings for Madrid and cut a pass back to Marco Asensio after 16 minutes, who saw his attempt to divert the ball back into the middle deflected into his own net by Torres.
Having missed earlier opportunities, Chukwueze finally took his chance by showing superb skill to beat Nacho on the edge of the box after receiving a pass from Giovanni Lo Celso and expertly dispatching his finish.
Madrid responded just three minutes after the break, Vinicius powering past Chukwueze and Aissa Mandi into the box and firing past Pepe Reina from close range to restore the hosts’ lead.
Mandi had a goal ruled out for offside but an equaliser did follow with 20 minutes remaining, with Chukwueze’s low cross into the box causing panic amongst the Madrid defenders, allowing Morales to stab home at the second attempt.
Chukwueze then struck again, brilliantly curling past Courtois from the edge of the box to put Villarreal ahead, though Madrid thought they had been handed a lifeline with a late penalty.
After Eduardo Camavinga’s run into the box, a penalty was called following an alleged handball from Mandi, though a VAR review showed no contact and the on-field decision was overturned, with Villarreal holding on for an impressive win.
What does it mean? Madrid fall further behind
Just three days after hammering Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, Madrid gifted their great rivals the opportunity to move further ahead in the title race when they host Girona on Monday.
Victory for Xavi’s side would extend the lead over Madrid to 15 points with just 10 matches to play, with the title all but guaranteed to be heading to Catalonia.
Though Madrid will never have truly fancied their chances of a late-season recovery to clinch the title, they would have hoped to maintain the pressure upon Barcelona until the last possible moment.
Stellar Samuel
An incredible attacking performance from Chukwueze saw the Nigerian run rings around Madrid, with Nacho likely to be haunted by his dazzling footwork in the days to come.
No player had more attempts than Chukwueze (five) for either side, while he also led for the most shots on target (three) and finished with two goals from an expected goals (xG) rate of 0.75.
Rodry-woe
In stark contrast to Chukwueze, Rodrygo was unable to capitalise on the opportunities he had in the match and will wonder what might had been if he had been more reliable in front of goal.
The Brazilian had just one shot on target from five attempts, four of which came from inside the box, and finished with an xG of 0.63 – only lower than Chukwueze (0.75) and Vinicius (1.06), both of whom scored.
What’s next?
Madrid turn their attention to Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea, while Villarreal return to action on Saturday at home to Real Valladolid.
