A composition with Jude Bellingham’s influence Real Madrid went seven points clear of Barcelona and eight clear of Atletico Madrid with a comfortable victory over Villarreal. But what looked to be a major injury to David Alaba slightly tempered the excitement of winning back the top spot in La Liga.
“Hey Jude” was ringing throughout the Bernabeu when Bellingham scored the first goal, extending his amazing record to 17 goals in 20 appearances across all competitions. It was not all positive news, either, as Alaba was replaced in the first half because of what looked to be a possible injury to his cruciate ligament.
On minute twenty-five, Bellingham, who has center-forward stats, broke the deadlock with a goal of his own. Lucas Vazquez crossed the ball from the right to Luka Modric, who sent a lovely ball into the middle, and Bellingham headed a header past Filip Jorgensen.
as twelve minutes, Rodrygo increased Madrid’s lead as Modric’s corner was not cleared by Villarreal. In the preceding 11 games, it was the Brazilian’s ninth goal. From barely inside the six-yard line, he scored.
Between the scores was that horrible moment for Alaba. He appeared to twist his left knee quite a bit as he put pressure on Gerard Moreno from behind. He and Antonio Rudiger were the only players still in the middle of Real Madrid’s defense when Nacho entered the game.
All Madrid could say in response at first was that the injury looked serious. If it becomes out that Alaba has torn his cruciate ligament—a condition that has previously been suffered this season by center-back Edu Militao and defender Thibaut Courtois—they will have to search for a replacement in January.
Jose Luis Morales, who scored 2-1 for Villarreal, came in underneath Antonio Rudiger after receiving a pass from Ramon Terrats just ten minutes into the second half. Morales has five league goals since Marcelino took over the team.
But Brahim Diaz’s spectacular third goal for Real Madrid in minute sixty-four changed the score by two goals again.
He turned his back on Aisa Mandi on the midway line and carried the ball into the penalty area, where he sent Jorge Cuenca, Mandi’s partner in central defense, the wrong way before firing past Jorgensen.
The fourth one happened in four minutes.
The ball returned to Modric after Etienne Capoue’s deft play-making blocked Rodrygo’s shot, allowing him to score his first goal of the season. Madrid was starting to pick up on the buzz.
Bellingham was just given a citation for trying to stop Adria Altimira from taking off his shirt; he was punished the same way as Altimira for her long shirt pull when he raised his hand to address the offender.
A few moments later, Bellingham was knocked down, and the referee motioned for the supporters to increase their volume. This seemed to infuriate match official Jorge Figueroa Vázquez, who threatened to issue Bellingham another yellow card.
Even with the score at 4-1, the England midfielder was still throwing himself into every challenge. He doesn’t know what it means to relax.
Ben Brereton, a former forward for Blackburn, entered the game late for Villarreal, but Real Madrid had already won. Girona was aware that a victory over Alaves on Monday would put Real Madrid back atop La Liga.
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