MADRID: Samu Chukwueze scored a brace to give Real Madrid a major blow to already faint title hopes in La Liga as they were handed a shocking 3-2 defeat by Villarreal at home on Saturday.
Just days after thrashing arch-rivals Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou to reach Cop del Rey final. Real fell to a bitter loss which left them 12 points behind the table-topers Barca.
Barcelona, however, have an opportunity to extend their lead to 15 points at the top when they face Girona on Sunday.
Despite taking the lead twice, Carlo Ancelotti’s side could not build on the momentum.
Madrid opened the scoring after 15 minutes through Villarreal’s Pau Torres’ own goal but Chukwueze slotted the equalizer in the 39th.
Vinicius Jr restored the one-goal cushion for the home side after the break with a simple finish in front of the Villarreal goal for his ninth league goal of the season.
Quique Setien’s side overcame Real’s lead again in the 71st minute when Jose Luis Morales fired home from close range, with a VAR check reversing the initial offside call.
Chukwueze scored his second 10 minutes from time and silenced the home crowd at Santiago Bernabeu with an excellent strike from the edge of the box to the top left corner.
With the win, Villarreal climbed to fifth place with 47 points and are in contention for a Champions League spot.
Earlier, Real Sociedad beat Getafe 2-0 at home to go forth on the standings with 51 points.
Meanwhile, Athletic Club thumped Espanyol 2-1 thanks to Inaki Williams and Nico Williams’ goals.
