Jeremy Pino gave the hosts the lead, but a questionable assist from Juan Foyth allowed Karim Benzema to level. Foyth then earned his own penalty at the other end as David nursed Alaba and Gerard Moreno scored the winner.
La Real remains second, tied on points with leaders Barcelona, who travel to Atlético Madrid on Sunday.
Villarreal moved up to fifth place after a deserved third win in a row after creating better chances in an entertaining Estadio de la Cerámica. Alex Baena was close on several occasions in the first half dominated by the locals, while Francis Coquelin finished off the post with a cheeky shot from Moreno’s cross.
Benzema maneuvered Real Madrid’s best goal of the first half with a subdued first set for Vinicius Jr, but the Brazilian forward was dismissed by veteran goalkeeper Pepe Reina. A bad pass from Ferland Mendy meant that Pino put Villarreal ahead in the first minutes of the second half, but after a ball from above that brushed Foyth’s hand, the referee awarded a penalty when he saw the monitor at the edge of the field.
Benzema scored his 227th La Liga goal to move up to sixth on the all-time top scorer’s list, along with Real Madrid legend Alfredo di Stefano.
But any unfairness the hosts felt was quickly wiped out as Alaba slipped and handled Foyth’s low pass as he put his hand to the ground to steady himself, and Moreno coolly sent Thibaut Courtois the wrong way after Real’s loud calls were finally cut off. they calmed down
