Kylian Mbappe honors Real Madrid teammate with panenka penalty

Real Madrid walked retired of Villarreal with a assured 2-0 win, but it was Kylian Mbappé’s quiescent motion aft his 2nd extremity that ended up carrying the night. He had already enactment Madrid up soon aft the break, finishing a crisp determination that opened up the match. His precocious penalty, chipped mildly into the halfway of the net, sealed the effect and silenced the location crowd.

Mbappé went consecutive toward Brahim Díaz, took him into a hug, and made it wide that the extremity belonged to him. That elemental enactment showed the benignant of unity Madrid wanted to show astatine the extremity of a engaged agelong of fixtures.

A Small Tribute With a Bigger Meaning

Díaz has been facing harsh disapproval aft missing a Panenka effort for Morocco successful the Africa Cup of Nations final. It was a miss that lingered, and the absorption astir it weighed heavily. Mbappé’s determination to people successful that aforesaid benignant and dedicate it to him sent a connection that teammates basal with each different adjacent erstwhile the satellite doesn’t. It was a reminder that the dressing country believes successful Díaz, careless of extracurricular noise.

The lucifer itself unfolded with patience. Villarreal tried to dilatory the bushed and unit Madrid into mistakes, but erstwhile the archetypal extremity arrived, the visitors controlled the tempo. The punishment came aft a speedy determination involving Vinícius Júnior, who was lively passim and helped agelong Villarreal’s backmost line. Madrid kept the unit dependable until the last whistle, earning a cleanable expanse and moving to the apical of the table.

This triumph besides showed however the squad has settled nether manager Álvaro Arbeloa. Performances look sharper, and the squad seems much connected some connected and disconnected the pitch. Leaders are stepping forward, and moments similar Mbappé’s tribute bespeak the ambiance wrong the group.

Madrid present clasp a flimsy borderline implicit Barcelona successful the league and caput into their adjacent tally of matches with confidence. For Díaz, the nighttime whitethorn person started similar immoderate other, but it ended with thing acold much meaningful: a teammate reminding him that 1 mistake doesn’t specify him.