La Liga leaders Barcelona stumbled 1-0 at home against Leganes on Sunday as they suffered another blow in the Spanish title race.
Diego Simeone's side have been in fine form and continued their winning run across all competitions with a deserved home triumph, pulling provisionally level with league leaders Barcelona.
Real missed the chance to move above leaders Barcelona in LaLiga as they stay second on 37 points from 17 matches, one behind the Catalans who host Leganes on Sunday when Atletico, in third place on 35 from 16 games, welcome Getafe.
The 23-year-old was forced off with a muscle injury in their 4-0 thrashing of Osasuna at the Bernabeu earlier in November
"We changed the position of the forwards, with Mbappe outside and he did well, like Vinicius inside," said Ancelotti.
Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski's goals put the Catalans in a healthy position but Marc Casado's red card in the 82nd minute helped Celta start the fightback to snatch a point.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Friday he would ask his players if they can win without injured teenage winger Lamine Yamal.
Lewandowski's early disallowed strike led to furious debate over whether the Polish forward had been offside or not.
Hammered by Barcelona in a league Clasico and then outplayed by AC Milan in the Champions League, Carlo Ancelotti's side badly needed this confidence-boosting victory.
Spain's La Liga chief Javier Tebas believes it is almost certain that superstar striker Kylian Mbappe will be playing for Real Madrid next season, he told French daily L'Equipe in an interview published on Friday.
After leaders Real Madrid were held to a draw by Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, the Catalan minnows, second, hoped to cut the six-point gap but lost in a gripping clash at San Mames.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid stumbled to a frustrating 1-1 draw at neighbours Rayo Vallecano on Sunday but stretched their lead at the top to six points.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid stumbled to a frustrating 1-1 draw at neighbours Rayo Vallecano on Sunday but stretched their lead at the top to six points.
Robert Lewandowski's brace snatched champions Barcelona a 2-1 win over lowly Celta Vigo to leave them third in La Liga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by seven points.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday steered away from talk of Kylian Mbappe signing for the Spanish giants in the summer at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos on Monday doubled down on his criticism of players moving to Saudi Arabia, due to the human rights situation in the country.
Xavi Hernandez's side, third, shared the spoils with their relegation-battling opponents, 19th, after a thrilling battle at the Olympic Stadium, but now trail leaders Real Madrid by 10 points.
Regarding his thunderbolt, Vinicius added: “I don't tend to shoot from outside the box but I felt confident and I didn't get to play the last game and it came off. I'm thrilled but now we have to rest up before Tuesday."
League leaders Madrid opened up a five-point gap on shock title challengers Girona, second.
