The Spanish champions enjoyed a magnificent first half but completely fell apart as Alexander Sorloth blasted in four goals for the hosts
Alexander Sorloth had Real Madrid stunned as the striker scored four times to seal a 4-4 draw for Villarreal on Sunday. La Liga champions Madrid looked like they were strolling to victory as they sat 4-1 up at half-time, with Arda Guler, Lucas Vazquez and Brahim Diaz all looking awesome for Carlo Ancelotti's team.
Even with the likes of Jude Belingham, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Toni Kroos on the bench, Madrid still had enough firepower to potentially sink the Yellow Submarine at home. Sorloth, however, refused to let his team go down without a fight, as he was a constant pain in Los Blancos' side, opening his account for the day when a fantastic cross from Yerson Mosquera found him and he sent a powerful header into the net to make it 2-1. He then struck again early in the second half, followed by a third goal after 52 minutes to make it 4-3. Four minutes later, a quality counter-attack from Villarreal ended with him blasting beyond Andriy Lunin again. The Norwegian forward now looks set to end the campaign with La Liga's top scorer prize.
It was a bizarre capitulation from Madrid, but the game settled down afterwards. While there were plenty of worrying signs in that second-half burst – Dani Ceballos' collapse and Eder Militao's terrible defending – there were plenty of positives to take for the Spanish champions. Guler's stock just keeps on rising as he maintained his awesome form with two goals, and he has now scored in three consecutive matches with six goals from his last seven appearances, bringing an excellent finish to a season that started with injury heartache for the winger. Joselu and Vazquez – who also got two assists – also found the net while Brahim Diaz set up two goals in a bright display.
GOAL rates Madrid's players from Estadio de la Ceramica…
GettyGoalkeeper & Defence
Andriy Lunin (5/10):
Pulled off a couple of saves but saw four goals fly by him as Sorloth went on a rampage.
Lucas Vazquez (8/10):
A strong attacking display as he got two assists and a goal of his own.
Eder Militao (5/10):
Did not look good against the strong presence of Sorloth and was replaced on the hour mark.
Antonio Rudiger (5/10):
Looked fine in the first half but was flustered amid the burst of goals in the second. Put Sorloth off to stop him from heading in a late winner, though.
Fran Garcia (5/10):
Gave the ball away too much and his tackling was poor.
AdvertisementGettyMidfield
Federico Valverde (6/10):
A fairly quiet performance despite seeing a lot of the ball, but his passing was good and he showed a bit of fight.
Dani Ceballos (5/10):
Flopped in the box as he gave away possession, allowing Villarreal to score.
Luka Modric (6/10):
Sound with his passing as always to offer support to the Madrid attackers.
Getty ImagesAttack
Arda Guler (8/10):
Had a bright start and delivered a good finish to break the deadlock. Then made it look so simple when he added a second.
Joselu (7/10):
A quality header to keep Madrid in the driving seat but he was quiet beyond that.
Brahim Diaz (8/10):
Ended up with two assists, having fed Guler for the first before flicking onto Vazquez for the third.
GettySubs & Manager
Eduardo Camavinga (6/10):
Booked shortly after he came on and fought to win the ball in midfield.
Nacho (6/10):
Helped settle Madrid down a bit after their wild start to the second half.
Rodrygo (6/10):
Tried his best to get on the ball and have a run at the defence.
Mario Martin (N/A):
On for the last 10 minutes.
Carlo Ancelotti (6/10):
Rested a lot of key players and got some excellent performances out of his attackers, but seeing them fold for a large spell in the second half will cause some concerns ahead of the Champions League final.