Real Madrid tops Villarreal 4-1

MADRID: Real Madrid lead the Spanish league after beating Villarreal 4-1 but lost defender David Alaba with a serious knee injury on Sunday.

Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Brahim Díaz, and Luka Modric scored for Madrid, which moved one point ahead of Girona ahead of the Catalan club’s home game against Alaves on Monday. Madrid is seven points ahead of third-place Barcelona.

“It’s always good to open a gap to Barcelona,” Rodrygo said. “But seven points is not a lot, there is still a lot of league left. We have to keep this mindset and keep trying to win every match.”

Alaba had to be helped off the field at the Santiago Bernabeu before halftime when his left knee buckled while he tried to steal the ball from an opponent near midfield.

Madrid said after the match that Alaba ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament and will need to undergo surgery in the next few days.

It was the latest serious knee injury for Madrid this season. The club is already without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Éder Militão because of cruciate ligament injuries that are expected to keep them out of action for a long period. Eduardo Camavinga and Arda Guler also sustained knee injuries.

Bellingham and Rodrygo continued their good scoring runs to give Madrid a 2-0 first-half lead. Díaz scored the third goal after a beautiful run that started near the midfield line in the 64th. He cleared two defenders before finding the net from inside the area. Modric closed the scoring with another shot from inside the box in the 68th.

José Luis Morales scored in the 54th for Villarreal, which hasn’t won in three straight league matches and has dropped to 14th place.

Villarreal has nine losses in 17 league matches so far, its worst run at this point of a season.