Villarreal boss admits club looking to leapfrog Madrid

Villarreal head coach Marcelino has revealed he has third placed Real Madrid in his sights after pulling to within two points of Zinedine Zidane’s side at the weekend.

The Yellow Submarine’s 3-0 win over Levante on Sunday ensured Marcelino’s men are unbeaten in their last seven league games and haven’t tasted defeat on home soil in the league since October.

Villarreal took full advantage of Real Madrid’s defeat to city rivals Atletico Madrid on Sunday to move to within two points of Los Blancos and Marcelino admits they have their eyes firmly set on third.

“We set realistic goals at the beginning of the season, and our end to the campaign will dictate whether we can reach them or not,” Villarreal’s head coach is quoted as saying by Football Espana.

“The truth is that we’re above out targets. Finishing third would be a huge achievement.

“Still, we’re not thinking about it, we’re going game by game, but I think if we [finished third], it’d mean we were above our usual level and Madrid or Atleti being well below theirs.”

Only three teams are currently on a longer unbeaten streak on home soil in La Liga than Villarreal (10).

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