Mbappé scores twice to reach 31 goals for Madrid, bettering Ronaldo's debut season tally

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — After a slow start to his Real Madrid career, Kylian Mbappé has already surpassed one of the club greats.

Mbappé scored twice in Madrid's 2-1 comeback win over Villarreal on Saturday to take his tally to 31 goals in all competitions this season — one more than Brazil striker Ronaldo managed in his first campaign at the club. It also helped Madrid open up a three-point lead atop the Spanish league over Barcelona, which has played two games less.

Long gone are the scoring troubles Mbappé endured in his first months at Madrid.

Having surpassed Ronaldo's tally from 2002-03, the former Paris Saint-Germain player is now closing in on the 33 goals that Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his first season with Madrid in 2009-10.

“They are legends who marked eras with the club,” Mbappé said about the two Ronaldos. “If I score more goals than Ronaldo and Cristiano it doesn’t mean that I am better, just that my first season is better. Scoring goals is important, but it is even more so if we win La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.”

His double at fifth-placed Villarreal took Mbappe’s La Liga tally to 20 goals, only one fewer than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski in the domestic competition.

Villarreal made it a pulsating game as it attacked in waves with Alex Baena and Nicolas Pepe helping create a series of chances. Thibaut Courtois made three good stops for Madrid to deny Pepe, Ayoze Pérez, and Pape Gueye in the first half.

But Villarreal paid at the other end where Mbappé ruthlessly exploited the holes in the Yellow Submarine’s defense.

“Mbappé didn’t participate much, but he was lethal,” Villarreal coach Marcelino Toral said.

A one-handed save by Courtois to deny Ayoze led to a corner kick that resulted in Villarreal’s eight-minute opener. Juan Foyth swept home a ball that fell to him inside the six-yard box after it had ricocheted off players in a packed area.

Mbappé leveled in the 17th after he teed up teammate Brahim Díaz for a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Diego Conde, and the ball fell to the France striker to rifle home.

Mbappé was on the scoreboard again in the 23rd when Villarreal’s defense lost track of him at the top of the area. He received a pass from Lucas Vázquez and had all the time he needed to place a shot into the right corner.

Halftime substitute Thierno Barry and Foyth both squandered scoring opportunities early in the second half before Madrid tightened its defense to see out the game.

Carlo Ancelotti left Vinícius Júnior and Antonio Rudiger on the bench until the final half hour – with Luka Modric going on shortly after – as the Madrid coach rotated his lineup three days after its grueling Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid that went to a penalty shootout.

“This was an important and difficult game against one of the best teams in the league,” Mbappé said. “After the game against Atletico and its added time it was very tough today but we knew we had to win. We showed character and that we wanted this win.”

Barcelona is three points behind Madrid ahead of its visit to third-placed Atletico Madrid, which is four points back, on Sunday. It also has a postponed game versus Osasuna still to be played.

Ancelotti said that Real Madrid was upset that the game in Villarreal wasn't pushed back as it had requested to give its players more rest. As a result the club said it won’t agree to play another game without 72 hours of rest between matches.

Madrid’s game at Villarreal game kicked off at 6:30 p.m. local time (1730 GMT) on Saturday. Madrid had played a Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday that started at 9:00 p.m. and lasted 120 minutes plus a penalty shootout.

“This is the last time we will play within 72 hours,” Ancelotti said.

Vedat Muriqi made up for an own goal and a missed penalty kick by converting a stoppage-time penalty to complete Mallorca's 2-1 comeback win over Espanyol.

Espanyol goalkeeper Joan García delivered another top performance by saving two penalties.

García stopped Muriqi’s second-half penalty and appeared to have secured a point for the visitors when he also denied Abdon Prats in injury time, but the referee ordered the penalty to be retaken after an Espanyol player had entered the area ahead of time.

Muriqi, whose early own goal was canceled out by teammate Takuma Asano, stepped back up to the spot and redeemed himself by finally beating García with his team’s third attempt from the spot.

Also, former Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso converted a late penalty to give Celta Vigo a 1-0 win at last-place Valladolid, while Cristhian Stuani scored to salvage Girona a 1-1 draw at home with Valencia.

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

Villarreal's manager Marcelino gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Villarreal's Juan Foyth, left, push each other during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior vies for the ball with Villarreal's Juan Foyth, left, during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe vies for the ball with Villarreal's Santi Comesana, right, during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, attempts a shot at goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates with Jude Bellingham, left, after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Villarreal's Juan Foyth, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Villarreal's Juan Foyth, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Villarreal and Real Madrid in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Josh Berry raced to the first Cup Series victory of his career, taking NASCAR's oldest team to victory lane Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Berry, in his first season driving the famed No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing, had the first victory for a Ford team through five races this season. William Byron opened the year with a Daytona 500 victory in a Chevrolet and Christopher Bell in a Toyota won the next three races.

Berry, meanwhile, had to run down Daniel Suarez following a restart with 19 laps remaining to take control. Although Harrison Burton won at Daytona last summer for the Wood Brothers, Berry's victory is the first not at a superspeedway since Ryan Blaney won for the team in 2017 at Pocono.

It was the 101st victory for the organization spanning 20 drivers.

Suarez in a Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing finished second, followed by Ryan Preece in a Ford for RFK Racing. Byron was fourth for Hendrick Motorsports, followed by Ross Chastain of Trackhouse, Austin Cindric of Team Penske and Alex Bowman of Hendrick.

AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing was eighth and Hendrick drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10.

Joey Logano had late control of the race until Las Vegas native Noah Gragson hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to bring out the ninth caution of the race. Berry was in second when the caution came out and second behind Suarez on the restart.

Berry won in his 53rd Cup race and just his fifth race with the Wood Brothers, the team that signed him when Stewart-Haas Racing shuttered at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old Tennessee driver was a 40-1 underdog to win Sunday's race and his win put the Wood Brothers back into the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Bell came to Las Vegas on a three-race winning streak with an opportunity to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup races.

But his chance to extend his streak was stymied when Joe Gibbs Racing had to change the throttle body on the No. 20 Toyota after Bell qualified 13th and the penalty dropped him to the back of the field for the start of the race.

He never recovered in what was an overall subpar day for the four-driver JGR contingent.

Bell, who complained about the handling of his car most of the race, finished a team-high 12th. Only eight drivers have won four straight Cup races in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972.

Chase Briscoe was 17th and Ty Gibbs, who rolled a sprint car Saturday night at the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finished 22nd. Denny Hamlin, winner of more than $200,000 over two nights of playing slots in the Las Vegas casino, couldn't convert his luck to the track and finished 25th.

The Cup Series races next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track that had been in the playoff rotation the last three years but has now been moved to a spring race. Tyler Reddick won last October and Bell won in 2023.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Drivers restart racing after a yellow flag during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kyle Larson drives during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Josh Berry celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Christopher Bell speaks after his win in a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)