Kylian Mbappe dedicates successful Panenka to AFCON villain Brahim Diaz during Real Madrid's win at Villarreal

Moments after Senegal had a goal controversially disallowed in the AFCON final earlier this month, Diaz won a hotly debated penalty, which led The Lions of Teranga to walk off the pitch in protest. Following a lengthy delay, Diaz failed to execute his questionable Panenka penalty, and Senegal went on to win the final in extra-time. In the aftermath of that agonising defeat, the Madrid man admitted he had "failed" and apologised from the "bottom of my heart".

He wrote on Instagram: "My soul hurts. I dreamed of this title thanks to all the love you all gave me, every message, every show of support that made me feel I wasn’t alone. I fought with everything I had, with my heart above all else. Yesterday I failed and I take full responsibility. I apologise from the bottom of my heart. It will be hard for me to recover, because this wound doesn’t heal easily… but I will try. Not for myself, but for everyone who believed in me and for everyone who suffered with me. I will keep going forward until one day I can give you all this love back and become a source of pride for my Moroccan people."

On Saturday, Mbappe scored a brace for Madrid against Villarreal as they leapfrogged rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Diaz only came on late in the game but before his introduction, the France international was off celebrating his Panenka. Movistar cameras then picked up the moment the 27-year-old dedicated his goal to the Moroccan, shouting, "For you, for you."

Moreover, after the match, former Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe confirmed the penalty was for Diaz. 

Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa, who succeeded Xabi Alonso in the dugout, praised Mbappe and team-mate Vinicius Junior as "the best players in the world" after his side earned a valuable three points. Los Blancos were not at their best but did enough to return to the summit after trailing Barcelona for several months. Mbappe's double took him to 21 league goals this season, prompting Arbeloa to wax lyrical about the Frenchman. 

He said, "They're the best players in the world, two really dangerous players. We try to get them as many balls as possible. With Vini on the outside, and Kylian finding space. We're very happy with them in this form, and above all with the work they're doing. It's their effort and solidarity, and they're being rewarded with goals."

Vincius Jr has had a difficult season, with the Brazilian sometimes being booed by his own fans, along with going on lengthy goal droughts. But Arbeloa was delighted with his display against Villarreal.

"What we're seeing, just like on Wednesday night, is a great Vinícius. We have to make the most of him, and look for him as often as possible, to get him into one-on-ones [with defenders]. It's what I've always said, we're so lucky to have him," he said.

Barcelona can overtake Madrid in the table if they beat Oviedo on Sunday afternoon. Next up for Los Blancos is a home clash with Vallecano on 1 February. Incidentally, going by Arbeloa's comments, his side are on the up.

Arbeloa added, "Everyone’s commitment, effort, work, is the first thing I’ve seen since I arrived. Winning on this ground has a lot of merit and it’s thanks to the work of the boys. We haven’t had many days to work either, they have been more recovery than work but little by little they understand what we want, with more time everything will be easier. They are players of a high level and with little that you order them and tell them what we want from them, things are going well.”