Real Madrid struggle for 'motivation' in surprise La Liga defeat to Villarreal

Defending champions lose 3-2 at the Bernabeu to leave title hopes hanging by a thread

Vinicius Junior, centre, scored for Real Madrid but could not prevent defeat against Villarreal. Reuters

Carlo Ancelotti admitted Real Madrid struggled for motivation in their surprise defeat to Villarreal on Saturday as the defending champions' La Liga title hopes suffered another setback.

A Pau Torres own goal had given Madrid the lead at the Bernabeu and the hosts regained the advantage early in the second half through Vinicius Junior after Samu Chukwueze equalised in the 39th minute. But Jose Luis Morales pulled Villarreal level again, before Chukwueze grabbed his second with 10 minutes remaining to land a major blow to Madrid's hopes of chasing down leaders Barcelona.

Ancelotti's side had been imperious in thrashing rivals Barcelona 4-0 at the Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday. Yet, they could not build on that momentum in a defeat which left them on 59 points in second place and opened the door for Barca to go 15 points clear if they beat Girona on Monday.

Real host Chelsea on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

"It was a difficult game, we had chances and we could have made it 3-1 and slowed down the pace of the game, but it didn't happen," Ancelotti told Movistar Plus.

"We could have defended better. To be honest, it was hard for us to be 100 per cent motivated, it's quite normal.

"We have no doubts, Wednesday is a different story. The temperature has dropped a little today, but on Wednesday it will be at full strength."

Real took the lead after 15 minutes when Marco Asensio's cross bounced off Villarreal's Torres and into the net for an own goal.

Villarreal found the equaliser in the 39th minute through Chukwueze, who cut inside from the centre of the box and beat Nacho before firing low out of Thibaut Courtois's reach.

Vinicius restored Real's lead two minutes into the second half with a simple finish in front of the Villarreal goal for his ninth league strike of the season.

Quique Setien's side levelled again in the 71st minute when Madrid's defence failed to clear, allowing Morales to fire home from close range, with VAR overturning the initial offside decision.

Chukwueze scored his second 10 minutes from full time with a spectacular strike from the edge of the box into the top-left corner to win the match for Villarreal and silence the home fans at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"It's a crazy goal," Chukwueze said. "It's a dream to score this goal and win here. I'm very happy for this game. The future is going to be much better. I have to take advantage of this moment and keep improving."

Villarreal, who climbed to fifth place in the battle for a Champions League spot, host relegation-threatened Valladolid next Saturday.