Real Madrid emerged from the sound and fury of the Metropolitano with their UEFA Champions League defence intact on Wednesday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men must turn their attention back towards La Liga as they travel to Villarreal in what could be a key weekend in a knife-edge title race.
Atletico Madrid, beaten on penalties by Los Blancos in midweek, host leaders Barcelona on Sunday.
It means reigning champions Madrid can apply some pressure and go three points clear at the top today with victory at El Ceramica, although fifth-placed Villarreal have European qualification in their sights
The Sporting News is following the Villarreal vs. Real Madrid match live, providing score updates and commentary
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Villarreal vs. Real Madrid score
| 1st Half | Goalscorers | |
| Villarreal | 1 | Foyth 7′ |
| Real Madrid | 2 | Mbappe 17′, 23′ |
Venue: Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal
Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano
Lineups:
Villarreal (4-4-2, right to left): 13. Diego Conde (GK) — 8. Juan Foyth, 5. Willy Kambwala, 2. Logan Costa, 23. Sergi Cardona — 9. Tajon Buchanan, 14. Santi Comesana, 18. Pape Gueye, 16. Alex Baena — 19. Nicolas Pepe, 22. Ayoze Perez
Real Madrid (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Thibau Courtois (GK) — 17. Lucas Vazquez, 14. Aurelien Tchouameni, 35. Raul Asencio, 20. Fran Garcia — 8. Federico Valverde, 6. Eduardo Camavinga, 5. Jude Bellingham — 11. Rodrygo, 21. Brahim Diaz, 9. Kylian Mbappe
MORE: Updated race for La Liga Golden Boot in 2024/25
Villarreal vs. Real Madrid live updates, highlights, and commentary
Halftime
A pulsating half of football. Madrid might have wanted to take it easy. Early on it certainly looked that way as Villarreal captain Juan Foyth gave his side a deserved early lead. The hosts continued to pose plenty od questions throughout the half, with Thibaut Courtois making some fine saves. But Kylian Mbappe is some ace up the sleeve to have and his well-taken double has him on 20 in La Liga and up to 30 for the season overall.
45+2 mins: Pepe again, pushed behind again. Corner to Villarreal
45 mins: Valverde boots a shot off target. Villarreal down the other end through Pepe, who beats Garcia and fires across goal. Another fine save from Courtois! We’ll have three minutes of stoppage time.
44 mins: Mbappe bears down on a pretty beleaguered-looking Foyth, he cuts one back to for Rodrygo to shoot from outside the box. Conde gets behind it.
42 mins: Madrid have taken plenty of the sting out of Villarreal, who were so vibrant for much of the first half hour.
36 mins: Unperturbed by his yellow card, Tchouameni hurls himself into a last-ditch challenge. Corner to Villarreal, which Camavinga heads away.
35 mins: Pepe pulls into a slither of space in-between Garcia and Camavinga. Unhelpfully for the hosts, he puts his shot into orbit.
33 mins: Tchouameni slides into an agricultural challenge on Perez on halfway. Replays show he maybe got a bit of the ball but it was a desperate lunge and referee Manzano brings out the yellow card.
30 mins: Lovely interplay from Mbappe and Rodrygo that ends with the latter firing into the side netting at the near post.
29 mins: Villarreal still posing plenty of questions as Buchanan’s deflected cross is cleared by Tchouameni and Valverde nips in to dispossess Perez.
23 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!! Kylian Mbappe!!!!!
Bang, bang and Madrid are ahead. Vazquez cuts back, Mbappe has pulled intelligently into space and rifles a 20th La Liga goal of the season past Conde.
22 mins: Baena with another lovely delivery into the box, this time from open play. Tchouameni with a smart clearance. The big Frenchman is on hand again to head away from a subsequent corner.
19 mins: Oh my, Camavinga puts Courtois in a tangle with a dreadful backpass that the goalkeeper has to chest down and volley away from danger. He dealt with that superbly.
18 mins: Back come Villarreal with Gueye drilling one from distance that Courtois has to push clear.
17 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!! Kylian Mbappe!!!!!
A goal created and finished by Mbappe, who fires fine pass into Brahim. The initial shot is well saved by Conde but Mbappe is on hand to smash the rebound into the net.
15 mins: Camavinga floats a teasing ball for Mbappe in between Kambwala and Conde but the Villarreal goalkeeper is out confidently to claim.
14 mins: Madrid try a short one and Fran Garcai wins another corner, which is duly headed clear.
13 mins: Madrid’s first attack of note, with Bellingham heavily involved. Vazquez joins the attack and his deflected effort is sliced behind by Kambwala.
10 mins: Buchanan cuts inside from the right and lets fly left footed. Always rising but not far away.
7 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! Juan Foyth!!!!!
Well, it has been coming! Baena swings the corner in towards the Madrid goalmouth. It causes havoc, they can’t clear and Villarreal skipper Foyth hooks home!
7 mins: Great save from Courtois! Baena slips a smart pass in-field, Pepe dummies it for Perez. The Villarreal forward lets fly from the edge of the box and Courtois tips around the post.
6 mins: Buchanan with a chance to show what he can do on his first start for Villarreal. He gets down the right flank, the cross is blocked and Camavinga comes away with it.
5 mins: Perez pulls off into a yard of space and swivels to shoot goalwards. He doesn’t catch it completely cleanly and Courtois is behind it but that’s a warning for the visitors.
4 mins: Valverde, who has a bit of a spicy history in this fixture after an on-field altercation with Baena a couple of years ago, sprays a pass out of play. Madrid haven’t quite got going yet.
Kickoff: 1st Half
Villarreal get us underway, looking to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to nine-man Alaves.
5 mins before kickoff: Here come the two teams. Can Madrid put their dreadful form in this fixture behind them and put a marker down on a big weekend in the title race.
30 mins before kickoff: If Real Madrid could have picked a fixture after a sapping Champions League midweek, it probably wouldn’t have been this one. Los Blancos have only won on one of their previous nine visits to La Ceramica. Cristiano Ronaldo was in the away line-up for that victory, back in 2016/17.
1 hour before kickoff: Here’s the Villarreal tea. Ayoze Perez, with 11 goals in 19 La Liga appearances this season, will carry their main threat.
🟡 𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 🟡 pic.twitter.com/RNWKwZqfd9
— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) March 15, 2025
1 hr 30 mins before kickoff: Here’s the Madrid lineup. Plenty of changes from Carlo Ancelotti, understandably so. The headline news is Vinicius Jr. dropping to the bench.
📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial!
🆚 @VillarrealCF
👉 @UnicajaBanco pic.twitter.com/KSYetL6rLu— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) March 15, 2025
2 hours before kickoff: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Villarreal vs. Real Madrid in La Liga. Did either of these sides get up to much in midweek? Quiet one, I imagine…
Villarreal vs. Real Madrid kick off time
The La Liga match kicks off in Villarreal at 6:30 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Sat, Mar 15 | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Sat, Mar 15 | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| UK | Sat, Mar 15 | 5:30 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Sun, Mar 16 | 4:30 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Sat, Mar 15 | 11:00 p.m. IST |
Villarreal vs. Real Madrid lineups, team news
Gerard Moreno has missed four La Liga games with a calf injury. The captain was back out on the training pitches late last week but sits out once again
Otherwise, Villarreal’s only major absentee is Ilias Akhomach, the Moroccan having ruptured his ACL back in November.
Canada international Tajon Buchanan, on loan from Inter Milan, makes his first La Liga start.
Villarreal (4-4-2, right to left): Conde (GK) — Foyth, Kambwala, Costa, Cardona — Buchanan, Comesana, Gueye, Baena — Pepe, Perez
Villarreal subs: Junior (GK), Albiol, Bailly, Suarez, Parejo, Barry, Yeremy, Pedraza, Navarro
After a gruelling 120 minutes against Atletico, Carlo Ancelotti had plenty of decisions to make
Ferland Mendy is absent from the matchday squad after an injury late in the 90 minutes at the Metropolitano. Fran Garcia starts at left-back, with Lucas Vazquez, Aurelien Tchouameni and Raul Asencio completing the defence.
Federico Valverde goes back to the well in midfield, where there is a recall for Eduardo Camavinga. Vinicius Junior is the one member of Madrid’s fab four to sit out, with Brahim Diaz joining Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappe in attack,
It might mean an opportunity for Mbappe to operate from his favoured left-wing berth, with Jude Bellingham perhaps more focused on midfield duties or swapping in the false nine role with Brahim.
Real Madrid lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Courtois (GK) — Vazquez, Tchouameni, Asencio, Garcia — Valverde, Camavinga, Bellingham — Rodrygo, Brahim, Mbappe
Real Madrid subs: Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez, Alaba, Vinicius Jr, Modric, Arda Guler, Endrick, Rudiger, Diego Aguado, Valdepenas
Villarreal vs. Real Madrid live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this La Liga match across selected areas of the world’s major regions: