Kylian Mbappe brace ensured Real Madrid return back to the summit of La Liga as they ran at 1-2 winners at Villarreal.
Defender, Juan Foyth opened the scoring at the Estadio de la Cerámica for the host but two Mbappe strikes in six first-half minutes earned the points for Madrid.
The result now puts Los Blancos three points clear of previous leaders and rivals, Barcelona, who visit third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday night.
Kylian Mbappe is now just one goal (20) behind Robert Lewandowski (21) in the La Liga top scorer charts.
Madrid were unhappy the game was taking place fewer than 72 hours after their Champions League win on penalties against Atletico on Wednesday.
However despite their complaints they had enough in the tank to beat their opponents, despite Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti starting the game with Vinicius Junior on the bench.
Ancelotti told reporters, “I think today is the last time we will play a game before 72 hours of rest”.
“We will never play another game without 72 hours of rest.
“We asked La Liga twice to change the time of the game and they did not do anything, this is the last time”, he added.
Ancelotti has severally complained about the packed football calendar, with his team (Real Madrid) one of the clubs who will also be involved at the expanded Club World Cup this summer in the US.
Recall that, the World football governing body, FIFA, recommends at least 72 hours between matches in order to protect the health of the players.
