Alvaro Arbeloa described Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior as “the two best players in the world” following Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Villarreal.
Mbappe broke the deadlock in the 47th minute after Vinicius played an important part in the build-up, before the French forward sealed the win with a superb stoppage-time penalty.
Having also netted twice at Villarreal last season, Mbappe has now become the first Real Madrid player in the 21st century to score multiple goals in two separate LaLiga visits to Estadio de la Ceramica.
The win lifted Los Blancos above Barcelona in the standings, although the Blaugrana are due to face struggling Real Oviedo on Sunday.
Arbeloa heaped praise on both attackers, especially Vinicius, who has come under scrutiny in recent weeks following reports of a disagreement with former coach Xabi Alonso.
“They’re the two best players in the world. Two very, very game-changing players,” said Arbeloa.
“We try to get them on the ball as much as possible. Vini receives it out wide and Mbappe makes runs into space. I’m not going to tell you anything new about them.
“But I’m very happy with their form and their work. They’re very committed to the team: they’re the first to press, to link up with the midfielders, to show effort, solidarity… and I’m very pleased that the reward is coming in the form of goals.”
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also underlined the danger posed by Mbappe and Vinicius to opposing defences.
He told RMTV: “In the end, they really unbalance the other teams. They’re a nightmare for defences. You can stop them for 60, 70, 80 minutes. But they have so much quality that they always end up finding the gap.
“Kylian saw the gap perfectly on the first goal, and on the second, he added that extra touch to draw the penalty. But we’re all in this together, and many of us can contribute to the attack.”
