Mbappé's brace at Villarreal lifts Real Madrid into La Liga lead

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Despite a coaching change and some poor play that irked its fans, Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga after Klyian Mbappé scored a brace in a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday.

Mbappé scored early in the second half and added an injury-time penalty to ensure Madrid rose two points above Barcelona, which will need to beat bottom side Real Oviedo at home on Sunday to reclaim first place.

Those were Mbappe's La Liga-leading 20th and 21st goals in 20 appearances by the France star.

Madrid has stayed close to Barcelona even though it has not been playing up to the standards of its demanding club executives and supporters.

The club fired coach Xabi Alonso after it lost to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final two weeks ago, only for the team to also endure an embarrassing exit to a second-tier team in the Copa del Rey in the debut of his replacement, Álvaro Arbeloa.

The sudden coaching change and poor play sparked fan protests during Madrid’s last two home games, a pair of wins in La Liga and the Champions League.

But a loss by Barcelona at Real Sociedad last weekend opened the door for Madrid to slip ahead at Villarreal. And now Arbeloa has overseen three comfortable victories in a row.

Arbeloa praised Mbappé and fellow forward Vinícius Júnior, whose incisive play with the ball helped set up both goals. Vinícius received the worst of the jeers in the Santiago Bernabeu this week.

“They are two of the best players in the world, they break down defenses and we try to get them as many touches as we can,” Arbeloa said. “Winning at this ground has a lot of merit and it is thanks to the work of all my players.”

Villarreal still has one more game to play but it fell into fourth place at 10 points behind Madrid.

Pape Gueye, the hero of Senegal thanks to his extra-time goal to beat Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final last week, was back in Villarreal’s starting lineup.

Gueye's long strike from outside the area just missed in the host's best chance in the first half.

Morocco forward Brahim Díaz, who missed a penalty that could have given Morocco a lead late in stoppage time, went on as a second-half substitute for Madrid.

Mbappé pounced on a loose ball to score in the 47th minute. Vinícius Júnior dribbled to the endline on the left side and his squared pass was deflected by Gueye. But Mbappé was the fastest to the ball and slammed it under goalkeeper Luiz Júnior.

Gerard Moreno had a superb chance to equalize for Villarreal in the 63rd when a set play set him up all alone in the middle of the area only for him to fire high.

Mbappé converted the penalty he earned after he was tripped by Alfonso Pedraza.

Villarreal lost Argentina defender Juan Foyth to a left leg injury in the first half.

Valencia edged Espanyol 3-2 after the referee awarded the host a questionable penalty in injury time when Rubén Sánchez was adjudged to have fouled Lucas Beltrán.

The video review didn’t overrule the initial decision, even though it appeared clear that Beltrán ran into Sánchez before falling.

Largie Ramazani converted the winning spot kick to ensure fifth-placed Espanyol’s winless run reached four games.

Sevilla fought back for a 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao at home. That snapped a five-game winless run for Sevilla.

Osasuna also won at Rayo Vallecano 3-1 to move into eighth place.

Only four points separate Osasuna and Getafe down in 17th in a compact lower half of the table that includes Rayo, Sevilla and Athletic.

A minute of silence was held before kickoff in all of this weekend’s games for the victims of two deadly train wrecks in Spain this week.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, right, speaks to referee César Soto Grado during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, center, in action during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid players celebrate after Kylian Mbappe scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has had a walkover into the Australian Open quarterfinals after Jakub Mensik withdrew 24 hours ahead of their scheduled fourth-round match with an abdominal injury.

The tournament confirmed Mensik's withdrawal late Sunday. The match had been scheduled for Rod Laver Arena on Monday night.

“After last couple of matches, I started to feel worse, and actually the problem is my abdominal muscle on the left side,” Mensik said in comments published by the tournament. “Like I said, last few matches it got significantly worse, and I think if I would step on the court tomorrow, it would be such a big risk for me for my next weeks, for my next tournaments, and actually for my health.”

No. 16-seeded Mensik beat Ethan Quinn in straight sets on Saturday.

Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open a record 10 times.

The 24-time major winner became the first player to reach 400 wins in Grand Slam singles when he beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Saturday night in the third round of the Australian Open.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after defeating Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic celebrates after defeating Ethan Quinn of the U.S. in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts after defeating Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)