Bellingham brace takes Real Madrid to win over Osasuna and summit of LaLiga
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have been ruthless in front of goal of late, netting three in both of their last two matches. The driving force behind that has been the irrepressible Jude Bellingham, and the Englishman was again on target inside 10 minutes here.
Luka Modric’s incisive ball found Dani Carvajal between the lines, and his clever lay-off allowed Bellingham to rifle home high into the net.
Los Blancos struggled to create chances despite their dominance after taking the lead, with a harmless Vinicius Junior effort as close as they came to a second before stoppage time.
Joselu missed a close-range effort on the brink of half-time, and he was nearly punished immediately as Osasuna spurned a glorious opportunity to level proceedings. Ruben Pena’s low cross was intelligently left by Lucas Torro, allowing the unmarked Ante Budimir the chance to shoot, but he couldn’t keep his left-footed effort down, much to the relief of the packed home crowd.
The hosts were straight onto the front foot after the restart, and after a defensive blunder allowed him a clear shot at goal, Joselu really ought to have done better than dragging his shot wide.
Bellingham had no such troubles moments later, however. After an intricate one-two with Federico Valverde, he showed composure beyond his years to slot the ball through the goalkeeper Sergio Herrera’s legs and double Real’s advantage with his 10th goal in as many appearances for his new club.
Victory was secured just beyond the hour mark by Vinicius Jr, who rounded the keeper and expertly finished after being played in by a stunning pass from Valverde.
The floodgates had now opened in the Spanish capital, and Joselu was next to get in on the action as he slammed home after some excellent hold-up play from Vinicius Jr.
Joselu saw a late penalty saved, but a rampant Real side were comfortable winners regardless, as a third consecutive league victory takes them back to the top of the table.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)