"It was very difficult because of the fatigue"

Frenchman Kylian Mbappe, who scored a brace as Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday, admitted they found it "difficult" to play because of the accumulated fatigue from Wednesday's match against Atletico Madrid and, above all, the less than 72 hours' rest between games, which he criticised.

"It was a very important and very difficult match because Villarreal are a team that play well and are at the top of La Liga. It was very difficult but we had personality and desire to play and win. We fought until the end and we come back with the three points," he said on Real Madrid Television.

"Everyone saw the game against Atletico. A lot of intensity and emotion in 120 minutes. You could already see it in the warm-up, it was difficult because of the fatigue, but we have to respect the crest and fight until the end. We gave everything we had and it was enough to win," he added.

Mbappe's brace took his tally to 31 goals in his first season at Real Madrid, surpassing Ronaldo Nazario's 30 and two shy of equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's 33.

"I feel very good. My 2025 is going very well on a personal level and with the team. My job is to help the team win. Goals are important, but they are just numbers. If I score more goals than Cristiano or Ronaldo it doesn't mean I'm bigger, the important thing is to help win titles; it's only worth scoring goals if we win the league, Champions League and Cup," he said.