Real Madrid put in a dominant display as they triumphed over Villarreal at the Bernabeu Stadium courtesy of two goals from Mariano Diaz and another from
Mariano, starting in place of Karim Benzema, opened the scoring within two minutes before Villarreal equalised nine minutes later. Vallejo made sure that Los Blancos went in at the break in front, and Mariano again scored early in the second half as he converted a Dani Carvajal pass into the Villarreal goal.

Real Madrid
Key Talking Point
Mariano Diaz, within 84 seconds found himself wheeling away in celebration as he put the ball in the Villarreal net.
Former Manchester City youngster Brahim Diaz dispossessed Santi Cazorla before feeding Mariano, who coolly slotted the ball past
84 – Mariando Diaz’s goal after 84 seconds was the fastest Real Madrid have scored this season in all competitions. Hungry. pic.twitter.com/iuJmHtc02C
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) May 5, 2019
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Courtois (6); Carvajal (7), Vallejo (7), Varane (7), Marcelo (7); Kroos (7), Casemiro (8), Valverde (6); Vazquez (6), Mariano (9)*, Diaz (8)
Substitutions: Asensio (6), Isco (6), Vinicius (6)
Star Man
With Benzema out through injury and Gareth Bale not even selected for the match-day squad, Mariano had the perfect opportunity to prove his worth to his manager as Zidane looks to rebuild this Real Madrid side in the summer.
With two goals and a strong performance leading the line for Los Blancos, Mariano will believe he has shown the Frenchman what he can bring to the Spanish giants.
9 – Mariano Diaz’s 18 shots on target for Real Madrid in all comps:
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⚽Predatory. pic.twitter.com/NRdL0idqqE
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) May 5, 2019
His physicality and willingness to get stuck in caused Villarreal problems on a number of occasions. What was more promising was the way Mariano linked up with Diaz, a combination that resulted in the opening goal.
The 25-year-old will have given his manager plenty to think about over the coming months.
Villarreal
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Fernandez (6); Quintilla (6), Funes (6), Gonzalez (6), Gaspar (5); Cazorla (6), Iborra (6);
Substitutions:
Looking Ahead

Los Blancos’ penultimate game of the season is away to Real Sociedad as Zidane continues to decide who will still be playing in the famous white shirt next year. The Real players know that they are playing for their survival at the club which could make the final two games exciting as they go all out to prove their worth.
Let’